Smart City apologists have a technological solution to every conceivable problem, but few understand the web of control they are creating around all inhabitants. As Charles Dickens might have written, "The future is utopian. The future is dystopian."
Toronto is learning the hard way about Public-Private Partnerships with the likes of Google-linked Sidewalk Labs. Smart City construction in its Quayside district is costly compared to traditional urban design, and data privacy is still an open sieve.
Societies are undergoing subtle yet massive changes because constant surveillance causes people to modify their behavior. You might nix certain activities that are thought to result in negative outcomes, and adopt new practices that are seen as positive. This is the wretched iron fist of Technocracy's 'science of social engineering'.
[su_note note_color="#daf2fd" radius="2"]There are 35 million people living in Opportunity Zones throughout America who have no idea that Chinese-style surveillance is about to descend upon them. This investment scheme gives huge tax breaks to any company who invests in infrastructure in these areas.
The Internet of Things in Smart Cities is growing at a rate of almost 23% per year, causing a feeding frenzy of Big Tech firms clamoring for their share. However, this is largely an artificial market created by Big Tech firms themselves, none of whom qualify as legitimate urban planners.
Our cities are getting smarter. Look around any modern metropolis, and you’ll see hundreds of Smart devices. Devices that provide better convenience, increase our safety,…...
In 1932, Aldous Huxley foresaw a Scientific Dictatorship in his book, Brave New World. In 2019, Huxley's dystopian future is appearing right before our eyes, but few recognize it.
Sidewalk Labs is already resisting public backlash in Toronto where it is building a Smart City. This was originally a private investment, but now the company wants its cut of city taxes to pay for it.
The Phoenix area Smart Region Initiative is a pilot program to see how much sovereignty can be stripped from member cities without a mass uprising by disenfranchised citizens. With no elected officials, SRI seeks domination over 22 cities and 4.2 million people.
The sales-pitch for self-driving cars is that it will decrease urban congestion. Apparently, the developers and marketers of self-driving cars never thought it through, or if they did, they just lied about it.