Privacy International published an article “Smart Cities: better for whom?”. From the article:
“Technology is often given as an answer when we are not sure what the question is. Cities are no exception to that. The current narrative advocated by governments and companies is that more data and the increasing use of technology will make our cities “better.””
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“Beyond the lack of clear vision and issues with the one-size-fits-all approach to so-called “smart cities,” we have observed the emergence of a narrative that says systematic data generation, collection and centralisation are the answers to all problems. This narrative — promoted by companies that sell data processing and artificial intelligence to local governments — has led to the very real and concrete transformation of our cities into increasingly surveilled spaces, as well as places of exclusion and discrimination.”
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“Cases that have emerged reveal that the populations who will first pay the toll of smart cities are the most vulnerable ones”
