As the world’s “smart cities” increasingly leverage Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies and newly available sources of data to strengthen their communities, they must also ensure that they are adequately safeguarding the privacy of their citizens.
Defined as an urban area that “use(s) new technologies to gather comprehensive data and algorithms to achieve increased efficiency, sustainability, and safety,” smart cities aim to serve a variety of functions. They can enhance public safety, inform infrastructure improvements, communicate information on civic resources, and even make city services such as traffic lights and trash collection more effective.
But along with such benefits, the leaders of smart cities must make sure to consider and mitigate the unintended negative consequences that can result from the hasty embrace of IoT technologies.
