Everywhere we go, we unknowingly carry and produce multiple types of data points. This is not news, we have been doing so for multiple years; ever since the first miniature GPS systems were invented to be put in our cellphones and devices. However, we are starting to realize the impact that such technology may have. All around the world, both public and private projects erupt and develop hyper-specific content using the data we produce. But how much of our private lives stay private? Recently, I read an article in the New York Times mentioning the new measures taken to control the number of tourists coming in and out of Venice, Italy. The goal of city officials is to disperse crowds and manage the number of tourists coming in every day, which had been increasing year after year before Covid-19 (Bubola, 2021). The city’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini, says: ‘We know minute by minute how many people are passing and where they are going. […] We have total control of the city’ (2021). Although these words may sound reassuring for the police force, civilians may think otherwise. Who else can have access to our data? How many confidentiality agreements have we agreed to, without reading the small characters? The smart city seems to be developing in ways that may at times impede our privacy. There is no stopping the technological advancements of the last decades or so. While some of us think that sacrificing part of our anonymity online is worth it, others carefully avoid websites or technology that might reveal too much. In the case of Venice, this allows for fewer tourists to crowd the streets, but in turn confirms the role of the city as a secured ‘amusement park’, as one of its residents calls it (2021). A local newspaper even called Venice ‘an open-air Big Brother’, relating the surveillance system to George Orwell’s famous dystopia (2021). The social contract around privacy and anonymity in both public and private spheres is ever-evolving and will continue to take many forms as we develop increasingly complex systems. Transparency will be a key component to earning people’s trust.
Reference
Bubola, E. (October 4th, 2021). Venice, Overwhelmed by Tourists, Tries Tracking Them. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/world/europe/venice-tourism-surveillance.html
Image reference
Silvestri, Manuel. (March 8th, 2020). The Grand Canal is seen as the Italian government prepares to adopt new measures to contain the spread of coronavirus in Venice, Italy. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/photos-water-in-venice-italys-canals-clear-amid-covid-19-lockdown.html