What happens when the sensor-imbued city acquires the ability to see – almost as if it had eyes? Ahead of the 2019 Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB), titled "Urban Interactions," ArchDaily is working with the curators of the "Eyes of the City" section at the Biennial to stimulate a discussion on how new technologies – and Artificial Intelligence in particular – might impact architecture and urban life. Here you can read the “Eyes of the City” curatorial statement by Carlo Ratti, the Politecnico di Torino and SCUT.
First, let me declare my unambiguous aversion to the envisioned future in which “any room, street or shop in our city can recognize you, and autonomously respond to your presence.” Despite this, can I see any positive potentials in pervasive systems of urban surveillance and response?
Rather than designing cities to “see” us—in aid of social control and commercial targeting and at risk of increased fragmentation and narcissism—how instead might we design cities that help us be active witnesses to and collaborators with, the many non-human lives unfolding around us, which we may currently overlook? Beijing park-goers can scan QR codes to learn about plants and birds. Melburnians can already send emails to their favorite street trees.
