> It could be the coolest new neighborhood on the planet—or a peek into the Orwellian metropolis that knows everything you did last night.
A refreshingly descriptive subtitle!
A refreshingly descriptive subtitle!
I understand people hate FAANG, but let's be honest about the fact that this is a fluff piece, and that having smog sensors built into a few city blocks is not at all similar. There are so many legitimate things to be concerned about, and this has got to be about the least concerning thing out there.
> In Toronto, Sidewalk sketches out a picture of a neighborhood where intelligent “pay-as-you-throw” garbage chutes separate out recyclables and charge households by waste output; where hyperlocal weather sensors could detect a coming squall and heat up a snow-melting sidewalk. Apps would tell residents when the Adirondack chairs on the waterfront are open, and neighbors would crowdsource approvals for block-party permits, giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down based on the noise the gathering was expected to produce. Traffic signals could auto-calibrate to ease pedestrian congestion during public events, or to ensure a smooth rush hour. The data from such systems would feed back into the city, which would constantly learn, optimizing its own operations from month to month, year to year. Sidewalk promises “the most measurable community in the world.”
"The most measurable community in the world". That's well beyond "smog sensors built into a few city blocks".
All so we can better extract a profit from our u̶s̶e̶r̶s̶ citizens.
There is a constant push towards more and more government and corporate surveillance.
Oh boy, a digital HOA. Wow, Google, I can't wait!
No, that's not how it will go.
It will go like this: one day you come home to your apartment, it's locked and won't accept your AUTHENTICATION_METHOD.
The noise causes the door to be opened and the new tenant asks you to be quiet in the hallway. Your stuff was moved out and disposed off, after your digital media were scanned for patentable ideas (you really should have read the fine print).
Your cat has been uploaded and is fortunately still available as a construct so you really have nothing to complain about (that was a courtesy).
One day a bottle washes up on shore. You open it to find a message!
"We've updated our privacy policy..."