Smart cities can help us manage post-COVID life, but they’ll need trust as well as tech
Vaccine or not, we have to come to terms with the reality that COVID-19 requires us to rethink how we live. And that includes the idea of smart cities that use advanced technologies to serve citizens. This has become critical in a time of pandemic. But as we prepare to move beyond this crisis, cities need to design systems that are prepared to handle the next pandemic. Better still, they will reduce the chances of another one.
Issues of trust are central
In a world of egalitarian governments and ethical corporations, the
solution to a coronavirus-like pandemic would be simple: a complete
individual-level track and trace system. It would use geolocation data and CCTV
image recognition, complemented by remote biometric sensors. While some such
governments and corporations do exist, putting so much information in the hands
of a few, without airtight privacy controls, could lay the foundations of an
Orwellian world.
Our research on smart city challenges suggests a robust solution should be a
mix of protocols and norms covering technology, processes and people. To avoid
the perils of individual-level monitoring systems, we need to focus on how to
leverage technology to modify voluntary citizen behaviour.
This is not a trivial challenge. Desired behaviours that maximise societal
benefit may not align with individual preferences in the short run. In part,
this could be due to misplaced beliefs or misunderstanding of the long-term
consequences.
As an example, despite the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the US, many states have
had public protests against lockdowns. A serious proportion of polled Americans
believe this pandemic is a hoax, or that its threat is being exaggerated for
political reasons
Design systems that build trust
The first step in modifying people’s behaviour to align with the greater
good is to design a system that builds trust between the citizens and the city.
Providing citizens with timely and credible information about important issues
and busting falsehoods goes a long way in creating trust. It helps people to
understand which behaviours are safe and acceptable, and why this is for the
benefit of the society and their own long-term interest. In Singapore, the
government has very effectively used social media platforms like WhatsApp,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Telegram to regularly share COVID-19
information with citizens.
Densely populated cities in countries like India face extra challenges due to
vast disparities in education and the many languages used. Smart city
initiatives have emerged there to seamlessly provide citizens with information in
their local language via a smartphone app. These include an AI-based
myth-busting chatbot
Guard against misuse of data
Effective smart city solutions require citizens to volunteer data. For example, keeping citizens updated with real-time information about crowding in a public space depends on collecting individual location data in that space.
Australians’ concerns about the COViDSafe contact-tracing app illustrate the need for transparent safeguards when citizens are asked to share their data. Lukas Coch/AAP
Individual-level data is also useful to co-ordinate responses during
emergencies. Contact tracing, for instance, has emerged as an essential tool in
slowing the contagion.
Technology-based smart city initiatives can enable the collection, analysis and
reporting of such data. But misuse of data erodes trust, which dissuades
citizens from voluntarily sharing their data.
City planners need to think about how they can balance the effectiveness of
tech-based solutions with citizens’ privacy concerns. Independent third-party
auditing of solutions can help ease these concerns. The MIT Technology Review’s
audit report on contact-tracing apps is one example during this pandemic.
It is also important to create robust data governance policies. These can help
foster trust and encourage voluntary sharing of data by citizens.
Using several case studies, the consulting firm PwC has proposed a seven-layer
framework for data governance. It describes balancing privacy concerns of
citizens and efficacy of smart city initiatives as the “key to realising smart
city potential”.
As we emerge from this pandemic, we will need to think carefully about the data
governance policies we should implement. It’s important for city officials to
learn from early adopters.
While these important issues coming out of smart city design involve our
behaviour as citizens, modifying behaviour isn’t enough in itself. Civic
leaders also need to rethink the design of our city systems to support citizens
in areas like public transport, emergency response, recreational facilities and
so on. Active collaboration between city planners, tech firms and citizens will
be crucial in orchestrating our future cities and hence our lives.