Did Privacy Kill the Smart City?

In January of this year, our Technical Product Manager, Stefano Stamato, gave a talk at the Thompson Rivers University Privacy and Security Conference. His talk centred around the struggle many municipalities have faced trying to implement smart city initiatives to improve the lives of their citizens and be able to better run their cities. Privacy concerns have been a major roadblock for many municipalities, leading to low buy in and even protests surrounding initiatives that felt invasive to communities.

While there are many reasonable privacy and security concerns that surround smart cities, there are a multitude of benefits to be reaped from them as well. It is a matter of implementing initiatives for the right reasons, in the right ways, and working with citizens to build better communities. In his talk, Stefano provides insights into the previous failures of smart cities around the globe and examines possible pathways forwards to bring technology into cities in a way that benefits everyone.

You can watch an excerpt from his talk below, or watch the full presentation on our Youtube channel.