City of Greater Geelong

What is a Smart City?

There are many working definitions of a smart city, the most prevalent is a city based upon the foundations of good urban planning, economic competitiveness, infrastructure and service provision that uses technology and data to enhance liveability, sustainability and workability; supported by a broad and active collaboration amongst city stakeholders.

Smart city projects by local governments prioritize citizen needs, ranging from smart bins and barbecues for service efficiency, free public WiFi for addressing digital inclusion, living labs for community-led innovation, and smart parking to reduce traffic congestion. These projects enhance efficiency, improve access, foster innovation, and create a more sustainable and equitable community.

A defining characteristic of the smart city movement is the importance given to the evolution of a city’s industries and commercial activities. Cities need to be hubs of digital and clean technology innovation in order to provide employment and to be more globally fluent to attract new businesses and new talent, this process is organically embedding the concept of smart cities.

Smart cities also seek to proactively protect citizens and businesses from the potential risks of future technologies like AI, IoT, and big data. The assessment and mitigation of technology-enabled risks and issues is a far better approach, than blanket avoidance since a future-focused city is more likely to avoid and better able to respond to challenges than a city minimizing technology deployment.

Cities are complex organisms, with many organisations and infrastructures providing the services needed for them to function effectively. Within this system it can be difficult to rollout urban innovation, a process heavily reliant on an engaging vision, a well understood path and embedded principles such as trust and transparency. Cities are also now more than ever before, resource constrained through policy and complex regulations that is further exacerbated through high inflation and globally challenging economic environment, the need to be efficient in service delivery will inevitably lead to technology driven innovation to fill this gap.  

Skepticism towards Smart Cities

Many cities are currently witnessing a rise in social media commentary and mendacious propaganda related to the conflation of two notions - the adverse impacts of smart city technologies and the urban planning concept of 20-minute neighborhoods that purportedly will lead to climate lockdowns. The claims include an elaborate government plan to create an Orwellian surveillance state that restricts the freedom of people, stripping individuals of privacy, taking cars away from citizens, spying on people and the introduction of digital IDs in a government endorsed prison like setup.

The impact of misinformation and malinformation on smart cities can fuel broader public distrust, hinder technological progress and more importantly distort the public's perception of their benefits. This could make it harder for smart city projects to secure funding and attract investors, especially if politicians are hesitant to support smart city initiatives if they fear backlash from constituents who are highly skeptical of technology. Therefore, it is crucial to address rising concerns and educate the public on the benefits and risks of smart technologies.

Addressing Concerns with Responsible AI

The question then becomes how do city officials grappling with complex and significant challenges such as the impacts of climate change, traffic congestion caused by urbanisation, and reducing the digital divide balance the skepticism of citizens and still take the necessary and bold forward steps towards transformational change?

  Cities are
complex
organisms,
with many
organisations and
infrastructures
providing
the services
needed for them
to function
effectively
   

Most importantly, a strong and joined up smart city program should highlight practices which dispel technology antagonism, such as digital inclusion initiatives, digital literacy programs, co-design of digital services and robust and transparent stakeholder communications about proposed smart city implementations.

In this article, the deployment of responsible artificial intelligence (AI) is utilized as an example to demonstrate how local government can elevate citizen participation and confidence in urban innovation. A similar structure can be applied to digital surveillance, sensors, digital twins, digital ids/payments and many other emerging technologies.

Responsible AI is the development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Embedding responsible AI in city contexts is a complex process with use cases ranging from traffic analytics to security surveillance, and below are some some general steps that can help with the delivery:

1. Define the goals and values: The city must establish the goals in using AI, where AI can (and cannot) be applied and setting ethical and legal principles to guide the use.

2. Establish a governance structure: The city needs to create a governance structure to oversee the development, deployment, and use of AI. This structure should involve a diverse group of stakeholders.

3. Develop and implement policies and regulations: The city should develop and implement policies and regulations to guide the development and use of AI. This can include standards for transparency, accountability, privacy, and algorithmic fairness.

4. Foster public engagement and education: The city should engage with the public to ensure that they understand the benefits and risks of AI, and ensure that outcomes sought are accessible to and usable by the people they are intended to benefit.

5. Monitor and evaluate AI use: The city should establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the use of AI to ensure that it is meeting intended objectives, being used responsibly and in accordance with established policies and regulations, and where necessary adjust the solution.

Conclusion

When adopting smart technology its crucial to engage and involve citizens through various communication channels, listen to their needs and ideas, and provide them with information about the smart city vision, objectives, and progress. Additionally, it's essential to make the benefits of smart city solutions visible and demonstrate how they can improve the quality of life of citizens. Finally, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation can help create a sense of ownership and empowerment, inspiring citizens to actively engage and support smart city initiatives.