In this insightful conversation, Bianca Wylie, a writer and digital governance expert, shares her journey resisting Google's plans for a smart city in Toronto. She emphasizes the importance of public consultation in digital governance and explores the complexities of tech procurement. Bianca discusses the role of local journalism in community engagement and critiques the issues of privacy in urban planning. She advocates for specificity in tech discussions, highlighting the need for transparency and genuine public dialogue when integrating technology into governance.
The rise of Sidewalk Labs in Toronto illustrates the tension between public interest and corporate ambitions in urban planning.
Effective public engagement proved crucial in challenging the privatization of governance and demanding accountability from tech firms.
Reframing discussions from technology implementation to governance structures is essential to address the implications of corporate influence in public spaces.
Deep dives
The Rise and Fall of Sidewalk Labs
A Google subsidiary, Sidewalk Labs, proposed an ambitious smart city project in Toronto, aiming to transform the waterfront area into a technologically advanced neighborhood. The initiative was initially received with enthusiasm, with local stakeholders hopeful about the financial and technological innovations it could bring. However, many residents quickly expressed concerns about the implications of allowing a private corporation to govern a public space, questioning the project's motives and the transparency of its procurement process. As resistance grew, local citizens, activists, and experts collaborated, using their voices to counter the hype surrounding the project.
The Role of Procurement in Government Projects
Procurement is a critical process in government purchasing, which is intended to ensure fairness and transparency when awarding contracts. The podcast highlights the vulnerabilities in the procurement framework, especially when it comes to rapidly evolving technologies like software and AI. Bianca Wiley emphasizes that citizens must continuously question who benefits from public contracts, especially when governance itself appears to be for sale. This insistence on scrutiny reflects the larger theme of ensuring public interest over profit in dealings with private entities.
Local Engagement and Community Power
Public engagement played a crucial role in resisting the Sidewalk Labs project, with citizens organizing to demand answers and transparency. By fostering an environment where community voices could be heard, participants helped shift the narrative from passive acceptance to active inquiry, challenging the gloss of technology and innovation that masked deeper issues. The engagement process transformed into a battle of expertise, with residents demanding clarity on governance and accountability rather than broad promises. This mobilization exemplified how civic activism can effectively confront corporate power and demand a say in the shaping of public spaces.
From Privacy to Privatization: Key Concerns
As the Sidewalk Labs dialogue progressed, public discourse shifted from concerns about surveillance to broader issues of privatization. While the initial pushback focused on data privacy and potential overreach of technology, it became increasingly clear that the project posed fundamental questions about governance. Bianca Wiley emphasizes the necessity of redirecting conversations toward how public spaces should be governed rather than simply how technologies can be implemented. This reframing allowed for a deeper discussion of who holds power in city planning and the implications of transferring such authority to a private entity.
Lessons for Future Technology Integration
Reflecting on the Sidewalk Labs experience, Bianca Wiley urges caution when integrating new technologies into governance frameworks. It is essential to involve subject matter experts who understand the implications of technological solutions rather than outsourcing governance responsibilities to private actors. By focusing on context-specific needs and the expertise of local professionals, governments can foster solutions that genuinely serve the public interest. The insistence on specificity in discussions about technology and governance highlights the importance of informed citizen participation in shaping public policy.
In 2017 Google’s urban planning arm Sidewalk Labs came into Toronto and said “we’re going to turn this into a smart city”.
Our guest Bianca Wylie was one of the people who stood up and said “okay but… who asked for this?”
This is a story about how a large tech firm came into a community with big promises, and then left with its tail between its legs. In the episode Alix and Bianca discuss the complexities of government procurement of tech, and how attractive corporate solutions look when you’re so riddled with austerity.
Bianca Wylie is a writer with a dual background in technology and public engagement. She is a partner at Digital Public and a co-founder of Tech Reset Canada. She worked for several years in the tech sector in operations, infrastructure, corporate training, and product management. Then, as a professional facilitator, she spent several years co-designing, delivering and supporting public consultation processes for various governments and government agencies. She founded the Open Data Institute Toronto in 2014 and co-founded Civic Tech Toronto in 2015.
