Think Smart
Imagine the power of technology harnessed to the efficient running of a city and directed to the benefit of its inhabitants: sustainable economically and environmentally, and contributing to the sum of human happiness. A utopian dream, or a dystopian nightmare? Mr James Willatt led the members of the Year 10 Athenaeum through a fascinating overview of the idea of Smart Cities and the opportunities and challenges they present.
Students had visited the utopian village of Saltaire on their trip to Yorkshire last year but have yet to consider dystopian alternatives.
The students were particularly engaged by the task of imagining a city run along the lines of one of their favourite computer games, or a supermarket, or perhaps a spreadsheet—many of which echoed the dystopian fears mentioned earlier. How soon an imagined or feared future seems to become reality.
It was interesting to note, since Mr Willatt spoke on this theme last year, how far technology in this area has developed, and to reflect on the opportunities and challenges it presents. This relationship between technology and ethics is explored in other aspects of the Scholarship Programme. Because something can be done, should it be done? Debates about driverless cars and the AI version of the “Trolley Problem” continue to exercise us. Indeed, members of the Sixth Form Symposium have recently been considering the issue of the potential criminal liability of an AI system.
