
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.
In times normal, our eyes are the lights of our will power and the tools of our agency. Eyes oversee and control the world in front of us, help us to prioritize and make up our mind, gather the essentials we need to process before we sensibly can navigate our way to go. Eyes (and the visual cortex behind them) are essential attributes of homo erectus, becoming sapiens, providing orientation according to our values, and help us to measure the world around us properly before coordinating our actions.
Unless…
