Future of the Datapolis

In designing our future smart cities we have to make choices, and discuss social, political, and ethical issues. This was the reason why we organized the “Future of the Datapolis” workshop at STT, with a broad range of participants from universities, civic organizations, businesses and government. After a screening of the documentary ‘Smart Cities, in search of the Smart Citizen’ (view here), participants designed four smart cities scenarios for 2040. Building upon various foundations of the city, participants discussed issues related to the governance of the data, the data-driven economy, and the social impact of using data in their city.

The four scenarios are portrayed below, from a citizen’s point of view:

Morning in Dataflex

Good morning! I’m Susan, a citizen of the smart city Dataflex, the city governed by Artificial Intelligence. My smart kitchen has just finished cooking a very tasty breakfast, just in time. The new pillow packed with sensors felt that my skin is drier than average, so it ordered a moisturizing cream online.

This morning I got a notification that they are opening a new casino two blocks away… big temptation for me. I had problems last year, when I decided to plug out of the Dataflex system just to play one more game of Blackjack and ended up staying all night, spending quite a bit too much. I am so grateful that we can have communication sessions with AI coaches, to help us with our problems. Using all the data they collect, they know best what we should do, what is best for the city and for us citizens.

Noon in Greenville

Hello! I’m Tom and I am spending my noon in the smart city of Greenville, which is a great place to live. To start with, you don’t have to work because robots replaced the jobs we used to have in the past. Now people can do what they like most all day long. For example, I enjoy gardening, and it’s wonderful to have so much time for my beloved flowers. When I am stressed, the technology is helpful again: I can use virtual reality to relax without spending too much money.

A day in Circular City

It’s such a sunny day in Circular City! It reminds me that I have to buy a T-shirt for my son. On my way to the local shop I will vote on the new proposed regulation, good thing that my self-driving car does not need any attention from me.

Hmm, which T-shirt should I buy? The red one costs 5 euro and 20 pollution units, the blue one is 10 euro and 5 pollution units. This morning I saved some pollution points by preparing a healthy breakfast, I think I can afford buying the cheaper one. My son will love it! I am so grateful that now all data is transparent, we can see more clearly the real costs of our actions. In the past we used to buy very some goods without knowing how much they pollute the environment or how badly their producers are treated.

Evening in Incorpolis

This evening I can stay up until late, tomorrow it’s the data free day. It’s nice to have some time off from time to time, without any data collectors working. You can do whatever you feel like, without being afraid that your corporation will send you away from the city because of some data you generated.

The corporation who rules our incorpolis has the intelligence to provide great services, they manage the city much better than the government used to. That’s the advantage of living in one of the oldest incorpolis, we already have all the data we need to make everything work perfectly. Long live the corporations!

When thinking the smart cities of 2040, several urgent questions popped up. These should be discussed and answered before developing the smart cities, in order to make the right decisions for future urban environments.

For example, to which degree will people accept technology in the city? Participants expect there will always be people who are less tech-savvy or even anti-tech who should be catered for. What boundaries should not be crossed when it comes to openness of data? Other questions are related to the governance of smart cities: who is responsible for the development of the smart city, and for the consequences of implementing different technologies? Does the traditional top-down approach fit with the smart city concept, or is a bottom-up system more appropriate? Interestingly, all four scenarios created during the workshop had a top-down aspect, even if two of them were supposed to have a clear bottom-up approach. This might suggest that decentral bottom-up governance is difficult to achieve or even to imagine.

Ethical concerns should also be discussed. If data is used to predict people’s behavior and take actions according to those predictions, how can we deliver transparency and ensure privacy and accountability? And what role should Artificial Intelligence systems have in a city?