Top Tech Voices Podcast S2 E6: Smart Cities & Urban Tech

Once again, I must apologize for my lateness in writing my summary.  I actually enjoyed the chat between Dr Anne-Laure Le Cunff and professor Carlo Ratti, but still have some concerns.  During the introduction he was asked about his past as a “hippie” and as the conversation progressed, I found myself viewing his answers in the broader, flowery contents of a 1970s hippie. 

Many of his comments were very interesting and valid that gave me moments to “meditate” on, but in the end seemed vague and inconclusive.  Like a pilot flying over a complex scene and seeing what he wants to see.  Then telling us how to fix it while living another life.

 Some observations:

NOTE: For what it’s worth, my observations are based on my conscience and unconscious experiences therefore probably all messed up.

-  With all the comments about cities, I found professor Ratti a little vague in how to deal with social differences between groups within the cities.  It doesn’t take much of the nightly news (or social media) to see the unrest and violence among groups.  He mentioned that we just need to sit down and talk about those differences until we agree.  Men and women, who are way smarter than me, have been working on this approach since the dawn of time with only limited success.  I get the feeling he might agree only if it doesn’t stop him from doing what he would like to do.

-  Of course, these segments have a common thread of A.I., so to see the mention of a way to study and understand humanity again only brings up again the fact the A.I. is a program, designed and written by programmers WITH their own biases.  What one sees an action as kind; another sees as hateful.  Just because we can use A.I. to speed up our conclusion, doesn’t make it better or even so.  However, it can make us lazy.

-  During the conversation, both Dr Le Cunff and professor Carlo Ratti mentioned climate issues, but little or no comments were aimed at addressing the concerns of the climate cost of A.I.  Massive data center requiring massive power and cooling resources.

-  Another thing that seems to be missing from the discussion is the issue of affordability.  Much of the unrest and violence among groups seems to come from those who believe they can not long afford the standard of living they believe they deserve.  Making smarter cities come with a cost.  And continue to widen the gap between those who can afford the “fancy bells and whistles” and those who cannot.  

Enough comments for now.  Let me know what you think and click like. 8^)

Gordon

Once again, I must apologize for my lateness in writing my summary.  I actually enjoyed the chat between Dr Anne-Laure Le Cunff and professor Carlo Ratti, but still have some concerns.  During the introduction he was asked about his past as a “hippie” and as the conversation progressed, I found myself viewing his answers in the broader, flowery contents of a 1970s hippie. 

Many of his comments were very interesting and valid that gave me moments to “meditate” on, but in the end seemed vague and inconclusive.  Like a pilot flying over a complex scene and seeing what he wants to see.  Then telling us how to fix it while living another life.

 Some observations:

NOTE: For what it’s worth, my observations are based on my conscience and unconscious experiences therefore probably all messed up.

-  With all the comments about cities, I found professor Ratti a little vague in how to deal with social differences between groups within the cities.  It doesn’t take much of the nightly news (or social media) to see the unrest and violence among groups.  He mentioned that we just need to sit down and talk about those differences until we agree.  Men and women, who are way smarter than me, have been working on this approach since the dawn of time with only limited success.  I get the feeling he might agree only if it doesn’t stop him from doing what he would like to do.

-  Of course, these segments have a common thread of A.I., so to see the mention of a way to study and understand humanity again only brings up again the fact the A.I. is a program, designed and written by programmers WITH their own biases.  What one sees an action as kind; another sees as hateful.  Just because we can use A.I. to speed up our conclusion, doesn’t make it better or even so.  However, it can make us lazy.

-  During the conversation, both Dr Le Cunff and professor Carlo Ratti mentioned climate issues, but little or no comments were aimed at addressing the concerns of the climate cost of A.I.  Massive data center requiring massive power and cooling resources.

-  Another thing that seems to be missing from the discussion is the issue of affordability.  Much of the unrest and violence among groups seems to come from those who believe they can not long afford the standard of living they believe they deserve.  Making smarter cities come with a cost.  And continue to widen the gap between those who can afford the “fancy bells and whistles” and those who cannot.  

Enough comments for now.  Let me know what you think and click like. 8^)

Gordon