As St. Albert strives to become a 'Smart City' we'd be wise to learn from Toronto, where plans for a high-tech neighbourhood (Quayside) are drawing strong controversy and great concern. Important questions must be answered: Who would benefit the most from the enormous amount of valuable data collected? Who would own this data? If a single corporation builds our smart city, would collaboration and innovation be at risk?
Andrew Karvonen, professor of Urban Sustainability in Stockholm, advises that residents, rather than tech companies, be the beneficiaries of the smart city. He expresses concern about privacy. Will all data become publicly available? Who will be in control? How will decisions be made? What will life be like?
Shoshana Zuboff, professor of Business Administration at Harvard, and author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, says that Toronto's plan to be a smart city is about "private capital displacing democratic government for the sake of commercial goals". A good example of a strong smart city, she says, is Barcelona. Their approach is, "We want the advantages of data to improve life in the city, improve the efficiency and livability of the city, improve the economics of the city."
Let's become well informed and proceed with caution in order to avoid the perils of surveillance capitalism and enjoy the benefits of a smart city.
Carol Price, St. Albert
