Technology is changing our cities: sensors and cameras are everywhere, all services we can potentially imagine are just a click away, 5G antennas are appearing on multiple corners. And this is just the beginning. Often, smart city initiatives assume that technology is universally beneficial, providing smart city visions and projects that represent ideal solution-oriented futures. In practice, the implementation of smart technology leads to friction because the impacts of technology on the city are not univocal: different people perceive them differently. For example, a surveillance camera can safeguard safety but can also be an invasion of citizens’ privacy. When these perspectives conflict, controversies arise. Controversies are situations where people disagree, where the issues at stake are sufficiently important to not be ignored.
In this research project, we consider that acknowledging, debating, and acting upon controversies allows the representation of multiple desires of interest groups in society. We take controversies as a point of departure to envision responsible smart city futures, encourage ethical reflection and stimulate civic engagement. These principles contribute to the development of responsible and inclusive smart city visions and projects. In the last years, we have developed methods and tools to make constructive use of controversies and, through this process, bring together stakeholders to co-shape responsible smart city futures: the Future Frictions web experience and the Towards Responsible Smart Cities Cook-It Book.
Future Frictions web experience
This digital tool is designed to immerse stakeholders in a relatable urban context, allowing them to explore and reflect on the impact of smart technology in cities. In Future Frictions, people explore a neighborhood, interact with neighbors and, at some point, they encounter three different speculative technologies such a surveillance drone, an AI cat and a set of sensing pigeons. They need to make controversial decisions regarding the use of this technology and the data it collects. These decisions are provocative and ambiguous with the intention of opening up spaces for reflection and debate. After making the decisions, Future Frictions brings different urban futures to the present, showing how technology can have an impact on our cities and the interactions we have in them.
Towards Responsible Smart Cities Cook-It Book
The Towards Responsible Smart Cities Cook-It Book presents a set of 8 tested and proven methods for fostering engagement, debate, and imagination around ethical implications and alternative smart city futures.
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Project partners
University of Twente, together with: