DT - Podcast - Episode 5 - The City with Eyes

The Digital Tattoo Podcast

344390 As the government of Canada slowly prepares to embrace for the future of city building, one small plot of land races ahead to become the nation's first smart city. Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parents company Alphabet Inc., is developing a proposal for 12 acres on the downtown Toronto waterfront. They’re proposing to harness the power of technology in order to optimize the urban environment and improve daily life for residents through vast data collection. But critics observe that Canada’s current legal framework doesn’t contain provisions to protect against the potential privacy violations that may occur from these new forms of embedded technology. The clock is ticking on the proposal and a decision about if Toronto's waterfront will become home to Canada's first smart city will be made within the year. This is: The City with Eyes. In this episode, we review the history of the area that may become Canada's first smart city and talk about where the proposal stands today. Then, we speak with the Bianca Wylie, one of the most vocal critics of the process, to hear some of her concerns about the proposal. And finally, we talk with students on UBC's Vancouver campus to find out their thoughts about privacy and living within a smart city like the one being proposed in Toronto.