How will artificial intelligence change the cities we live in? | BBC Ideas — Transcript

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1. 0:01Welcome to the city of the future.
2. 0:03A smart city that knows everything about you.
3. 0:06From how you like your coffee, to whether you've broken the law.
4. 0:09Or even if you've grown a beard.
5. 0:11Sound far-fetched?
6. 0:13While the smart city we're about to tour doesn't exist yet,
7. 0:16all of the parts do.
8. 0:18They're all components of real projects
9. 0:20happening all over the world.
10. 0:21Put them together and this is what life may well be like
11. 0:24in the not-too-distant future.
12. 0:26You go to work, your office building knows exactly who's coming and going
13. 0:30and what they need, thanks to thousands of inbuilt sensors
14. 0:33collecting data.
15. 0:35The energy efficient building is designed for your comfort,
16. 0:37reacting to changes in the weather and the number of people
17. 0:40in the building and adjusting its climate accordingly.
18. 0:43Wherever you sit, the lighting will adjust to suit your preferences.
19. 0:47The building will even recall your regular coffee order
20. 0:49and there's no chance of it getting your name wrong.
21. 0:53On your way home, you pass lamp posts laden with sensors and HD cameras
22. 0:57that monitor and record the world around them 24/7.
23. 1:01Air quality and traffic flow data tell you the quickest
24. 1:03and cleanest route and alert emergency services to accidents.
25. 1:08You arrive home, to a nutritious meal made from locally grown avocados
26. 1:12using hydroponics, so no need for soil.
27. 1:15Sensors allow urban farmers to make constant adjustments to temperature,
28. 1:19light and water and monitor the plant's responses,
29. 1:22so it's easier and cheaper to grow fresh food in cities.
30. 1:26The level of control smart technology gives can also be used
31. 1:29to make food tastier.
32. 1:31In Singapore, they've already found a way to make kale sweeter and softer,
33. 1:35so even the fussiest of eaters will enjoy their greens.
34. 1:39Your health is flourishing, thanks to your perfectly balanced diet
35. 1:43but you also regularly update your doctors using data sent directly
36. 1:46from your smartwatch.
37. 1:48They analyse it and prescribe personalised drugs and supplements
38. 1:52that are quickly 3D printed just for you.
39. 1:56Your baby stirs and you're alerted by its smart blanket.
40. 1:59Reassured that all is well, child mortality rates are at an
41. 2:03all time low, you go to bed but the sensors in the street never sleep.
42. 2:07They're busy policing antisocial behaviour, identifying people smoking
43. 2:11in unauthorised zones or throwing rubbish from high-rise buildings -
44. 2:16crime rates are negligible.
45. 2:17While much of this might sound pretty idyllic, it is not without issues.
46. 2:22Smart cities go hand-in-hand with gathering and storing huge amounts
47. 2:26of personal data and using it to control city life.
48. 2:29For governments keen to control certain populations,
49. 2:31this is an incredibly powerful tool.
50. 2:34Every moment of your daily routine can be tracked, anyone with access
51. 2:38to this data can find out where you live, where you go every day,
52. 2:42the places you visit at night and who you're with.
53. 2:45This data can be used by people with far more nefarious aims
54. 2:48than making you the perfect soya latte.
55. 2:51You could leave your phone at home, with an advanced facial recognition
56. 2:54CCTV in the mix, authorities can easily keep tabs on you.
57. 2:58In places like Xinjiang in China, where growing a beard can already
58. 3:02get you reported, this is a frightening prospect.
59. 3:05So are the benefits of a smart city worth giving up privacy
60. 3:09and freedom for?
61. 3:10Can governments and corporations be trusted with such huge data sets
62. 3:14on all of us? What happens if there's a mistake in the system
63. 3:17or you want to overthrow the system itself?
64. 3:20Whether you think smart technology means we're sleepwalking
65. 3:23into a dystopian future or enabling us to live a vastly more convenient
66. 3:28and sustainable lifestyle, it's coming soon to a city near you.