Updates
for you

Six weeks ago, I started a new weekly series answering the question how digitization can contribute to the development of better cities and their surroundings. Technology alone cannot reach this goal. Far-reaching social and economic reforms are needed, also to ensure that the benefits of digitization are shared by everyone.

Below you will find links to the articles published until now:

Part A: Digital technology as a challenge

1. Prologue to a new series: Better cities. The role of digital technologies

2. Scare-off the monster behind the curtain: Big Tech’s monopoly

3. Ten years of smart city technology marketing

4. Digital social innovation: For the social good (and a moonshot)

5. Collect meaningful data and stay away from dataism

6. The Boston Smart City Playbook

7. The Future of Urban Tech. A project of the NYC Cornell University

Next up:
Part B: Digital instruments and ethics

8. Digital technology and the urban sustainability agenda. A frame

9. Ethical principles for digital technology

10. Accessibility, software, digital infrastructure, and data. The quest for ethics

11. Ethical principles and artificial intelligence

12. Ethical principles and applications of digital technology

13. Amsterdam benchmarked

14. ‘Agenda stad’ and digital instruments

Part C: Applications
15. Artificial intelligence abused
16. Government: services and participation
17. Mobility
18. Circular economy: Construction
19. Circular economy: Waste
20. Resilience
21. Energy transition
22. Health
23. Smart cities from scratch
24. Epilogue

Links to the Dutch versions, you will find below:

Ben jij een Amsterdamse ondernemer met impact? Doe dan mee aan de buurtchallenge Boost je Buurt!

Voor Boost je Buurt selecteren Amsterdam Impact en Impact Hub Amsterdam per stadsdeel of stadsgebied 3 à 4 (startende) impact ondernemers die werken aan de maatschappelijke uitdagingen in de stad.

Deze 24 tot 32 ondernemers uit Centrum, Nieuw-West, West, Noord, Oost, Zuidoost, Zuid en stadsgebied Weesp winnen een ondernemersprogramma ter waarde van €2.500,- en maken kans op een aanvullend ontwikkelbudget van €2.500,-, €5.000,- of €7.500,-. Tijdens de finale op 30 juni worden er drie juryprijzen én drie publieksprijzen uitgereikt.

De Boost je Buurt inschrijving start op 10 januari. De deadline voor het aanmelden voor Boost je Buurt is 25 februari 23.59 uur.

Meer informatie en aanmelden kan via amsterdam.nl/boost-je-buurt.

Vele steden hebben de overlast van ratten beheersbaar gekregen met de Smart Rioolvallen. In deze webinar vertellen we waarom rattenoverlast toeneemt, waarom traditionele bestrijding vaak te kort schiet. Benieuwd welke Smart Cities al gebruik maken van de slimme oplossingen van Anticimex? Met Rando Kromkamp en Smart City Specialist Marcel Scheel. Kosteloos en anoniem

Het afgelopen jaar verschenen er tal van rapporten over digitalisering en technologisering. Maar wat kunnen we daarmee in 2022? Welke lessen kunnen we trekken voor de slimme stad? Welke ideeën kunnen ons gaan inspireren in dit nieuwe smartcityjaar?

Dit soort gesprekken voer je normaal gesproken als je elkaar tegenkomt tijdens een nieuwjaarsborrel, een congres of een andere netwerkbijeenkomst. Helaas kan dit nu even niet fysiek, maar gelukkig laat het digitale ons niet in de steek. Zo kunnen we toch met elkaar nieuwe kennis delen en verspreiden.

Daarom is de Future City Foundation op zoek gegaan naar de makers en bedenkers achter de rapporten. We gaan daarom in gesprek met columnist en hoogleraar Haroon Sheikh over wat we moeten doen kunstmatige intelligentie.

Wanneer? 9 februari van 9.00 – 10.00 uur
Kosten: Gratis

MELD U NU AAN

Artificial intelligence wordt in steeds meer sectoren gebruikt, maar wat moeten we ermee? Hoe kunnen we gebruik maken van deze nieuwe technologie en tegelijkertijd de risico’s ervan beperken? Welke kansen zijn er voor gemeentes?

Dat vragen we aan Haroon Sheikh, filosoof, bijzonder hoogleraar én projectcoördinator van het rapport over AI van de Wetenschappelijke Raad voor Regeringsbeleid. Wilt u weten hoe je AI zo inzet dat het een positieve bijdrage levert aan onze samenleving en hoe je misbruik door grote bedrijven voorkomt?

Heeft u een vraag aan Haroon Sheikh? Dan kunt u deze invullen in het aanmeldformulier. (We nemen dit mee in de voorbespreking en kunnen niet garanderen dat uw vraag wordt behandeld).

MELD U NU AAN

Meer weten?

Wilt u zich alvast inlezen? Sheikh’s columns zijn regelmatig te lezen in NRC Handelsblad, zoals in dit opiniestuk met Corien Prins (voorzitter van de WRR) over kunstmatige intelligentie. Lees een van zijn columns <b>hier</b>.

Of lees alvast het rapport van de Wetenschappelijke Raad voor Regeringsbeleid <b>hier</b> over de opgaves rondom AI waarin de Raad stelt dat Nederland niet goed is voorbereid op de ontwikkelingen van AI, waardoor kansen worden gemist én risico’s niet goed worden gezien.

Het afgelopen jaar verschenen er tal van rapporten over digitalisering en technologisering. Maar wat kunnen we daarmee in 2022? Welke lessen kunnen we trekken voor de slimme stad? Welke ideeën kunnen ons gaan inspireren in dit nieuwe smartcityjaar?

Dit soort gesprekken voer je normaal gesproken als je elkaar tegenkomt tijdens een nieuwjaarsborrel, een congres of een andere netwerkbijeenkomst. Helaas kan dit nu even niet fysiek, maar gelukkig laat het digitale ons niet in de steek. Zo kunnen we toch met elkaar nieuwe kennis delen en verspreiden.

Daarom is de Future City Foundation op zoek gegaan naar de makers en bedenkers achter de rapporten. Zo gaan we op 26 januari in gesprek met deelfietsgoeroe van Nederland Ronald Haverman en laten ons door zijn ideeën inspireren.

Wanneer: 26 januari van 16.00- 17.00 uur
Kosten: Gratis

Let op: Dit webinar wordt niet opgenomen en is dus een eenmalige kans om in gesprek te gaan met Ronald Haverman.

MELD U NU AAN

Achttien jaar geleden was het nog een utopie: fietsen die je kunt delen. Niet voor Ronald Haverman, de bedenker van een van de eerste deelfietsen ter wereld: de (inmiddels bekende) OV-fiets.

Maar wat is de volgende innovatie? Want Haverman is nog lang niet klaar met oplossingen bedenken. Hij is inmiddels werkzaam als mobiliteitsstrateeg bij de provincie Zuid-Holland en deelt op 26 januari zijn ideeën over hoe deelmobiliteit een oplossing kan zijn voor ruimtegebrek en een meer duurzame samenleving.

Hoe ziet hij dat voor zich? Hoe zet je bijvoorbeeld slimme oplossingen als geofencing in om deelmobiliteit optimaal te laten werken? Wat is de volgende OV-fiets?

MELD U NU AAN

The 10th episode in the series Better cities: The contribution of digital technology deals with the impact of ethical principles on four pillars of digitization: accessibility, software, infrastructure and data.

In the previous episode, I discussed design principles - guidelines and values - for digital technology. The report of the Rathenau Instituut Opwaarderen - Borgen van publieke waarden in de digitale samenleving concludes that government, industry, and society are still insufficiently using these principles. Below, I will consider their impact on four pillars of digitization: accessibility, software, infrastructure, and data. The next episodes will be focused on their impact on frequently used technologies.

Accessibility

Accessibility refers to the availability of high-speed Internet for everyone. This goes beyond just technical access. It also means that a municipality ensures that digital content is understandable and that citizens can use the options offered. Finally, everyone should have a working computer.

Free and safe Internet for all residents is a valuable amenity, including Wi-Fi in public areas. Leaving the latter to private providers such as the LinkNYC advertising kiosks in New York, which are popping up in other cities as well, is a bad thing. Companies such as Sidewalk Labs tempt municipalities by installing these kiosks for free. They are equipped with sensors that collect a huge amount of data from every device that connects to the Wi-Fi network: Not only the location and the operating system, but also the MAC address. With the help of analytical techniques, the route taken can be reconstructed. Combined with other public data from Facebook or Google, they provide insight into personal interests, sexual orientation, race, and political opinion of visitors.

The huge internet that connects everything and everyone also raises specters, which have to do with privacy-related uncertainty and forms of abuse, which appeared to include hacking of equipment that regulates your heartbeat.

That is why there is a wide search for alternatives. Worldwide, P2P neighborhood initiatives occur for a private network. Many of these are part of The Things Network. Instead of Wi-Fi, this network uses a protocol called LoRaWAN. Robust end-to-end encryption means that users don't have to worry about secure wireless hotspots, mobile data plans, or faltering Wi-Fi connectivity. The Things Network manages thousands of gateways and provides coverage to millions of people and a suite of open tools that enable citizens and entrepreneurs to build IoT applications at a low cost, with maximum security and that are easy to scale.

Software

Computer programs provide diverse applications, ranging from word processing to management systems. Looking for solutions that best fit the guidelines and ethical principles mentioned in the former episode, we quickly arrive at open-source software, as opposed to proprietary products from commercial providers. Not that the latter are objectionable in advance or that they are always more expensive. The most important thing to pay attention to is interchangeability (interoperability) with products from other providers to prevent you cannot get rid of them (lock in).

Open-source software offers advantages over proprietary solutions, especially if municipalities encourage city-wide use. Barcelona is leading the way in this regard. The city aims to fully self-manage its ICT services and radically improve digital public services, including privacy by design. This results in data sovereignty and in the use of free software, open data formats, open standards, interoperability and reusable applications and services.

Anyone looking for open-source software cannot ignore the Fiwarecommunity, which is similar in organization to Linux and consists of companies, start-ups and freelance developers and originated from an initiative of the EU. Fiware is providing open and sustainable software around public, royalty-free and implementation-driven standards.

Infrastructure

Computers are no longer the largest group of components of the digital infrastructure. Their number has been surpassed by so-called ubiquitous sensor networks (USN), such as smart meters, CCTV, microphones, and sensors. Sensor networks have the most diverse tasks, they monitor the environment (air quality, traffic density, unwanted visitors) and they are in machines, trains, and cars and even in people to transmit information about the functioning of vital components. Mike Matson calculated that by 2050 a city of 2 million inhabitants will have as many as a billion sensors, all connected by millions of kilometers of fiber optic cable or via Wi-Fi with data centers, carrier hotels (nodes where private networks converge) to eventually the Internet.

This hierarchically organized cross-linking is at odds with the guidelines and ethical principles formulated in the previous post. Internet criminals are given free rein and data breaches can spread like wildfires, like denial of service (DoS). In addition, the energy consumption is enormous, apart from blockchain. Edge computing is a viable alternative. The processing of the data is done locally and only results are uploaded on demand. This applies to sensors, mobile phones and possibly automated cars as well. A good example is the Array of Things Initiative. Ultimately, this will include 500 sensors, which will be installed in consultation with the population in Chicago. Their data is stored in each sensor apart and can be consulted online, if necessary, always involving several sensors and part of the data. Federated data systems are comparable. Data is stored in a decentralized way, but authorized users can use all data thanks to user interfaces.

Data

There is a growing realization that when it comes to data, not only quantity, but also quality counts. I will highlight some aspects.

Access to data
Personal data should only be available with permission from the owner. To protect this data, the EU project Decode proposes that owners can manage their data via blockchain technology. Many cities now have privacy guidelines, but only a few conduct privacy impact assessments as part of its data policy (p.18).

Quality
There is growing evidence that much of the data used in artificial intelligence as “learning sets” is flawed. This had already become painfully clear from facial recognition data in which minority groups are disproportionately represented. New research shows that this is also true in the field of healthcare. This involves data cascades, a sum of successive errors, the consequences of which only become clear after some time. Data turned out to be irrelevant, incomplete, incomparable, and even manipulated.

Data commons
Those for whom high-quality data is of great importance will pay extra attention to its collection. In. this case, initiating a data common is a godsend. Commons are shared resources managed by empowered communities based on mutually agreed and enforced rules. An example is the Data and Knowledge Hub for Healthy Urban Living (p.152), in which governments, companies, environmental groups and residents collect data for the development of a healthy living environment, using a federated data system. These groups are not only interested in the data, but also in the impact of its application.

Open date
Many cities apply the 'open by default' principle and make most of the data public, although the user-friendliness and efficiency sometimes leave something to be desired. Various data management systems are available as an open-source portal. One of the most prominent ones is CKAN, administered by the Open Knowledge Foundation. It contains tools for managing, publishing, finding, using, and sharing data collections. It offers an extensive search function and allows the possibility to view data in the form of maps, graphs, and tables. There is an active community of users who continue to develop the system and adapt it locally.

To make the data accessible, some cities also offer training courses and workshops. Barcelona's Open Data Challenge is an initiative for secondary school students that introduces them to the city's vast dat collection.

Safety
As the size of the collected data, the amount of entry points and the connectivity on the Internet increase, the security risks also become more severe. Decentralization, through edge computing and federated storage with blockchain technology, certainly contribute to security. But there is still a long way to go. Only half of the cities has a senior policy officer in this area. Techniques for authentication, encryption and signing that together form the basis for attribute-based identity are applied only incidentally. This involves determining identity based on several characteristics of a user, such as function and location. Something completely different is Me and my shadow, a project that teaches Internet users to minimize their own trail and thus their visibility to Internet criminality.

There is still a world to win before the guidelines and ethical principles mentioned in the previous episode are sufficiently met. I emphasize again not to over-accentuate concepts such as 'big data', 'data-oriented policy' and the size of data sets. Instead, it is advisable to re-examine the foundations of scientific research. First and foremost is knowledge of the domain (1), resulting in research questions (2), followed by the choice of an appropriate research method (3), defining the type of data to be collected (4), the collection of these data (5), and finally their statistical processing to find evidence for substantiated hypothetical connections (6). The discussion of machine learning in the next episode will reveal that automatic processing of large data sets is mainly about discovering statistical connections, and that can have dire consequences.

Follow the link below to find one of the previous episodes or see which episodes are next, and this one for the Dutch version.

Vind jij het leuk om met verschillende acties tegelijkertijd bezig te zijn? Ben je goed in plannen, een denker én een doener? En ook nog eens heel handig met allerlei programma’s en tools? Amsterdam Economic Board zoekt een Projectmedewerker zoals jij voor 32-40 uur per week. Stuur ons uiterlijk 24 januari je CV en motivatie.

House of Skills is op zoek naar ondersteuning op administratief en organisatorisch vlak. Ben jij een goede Secretaresse, houd je van werken in een hecht team met heel verschillende mensen en zoek je een baan voor 32 uur per week? Reageer dan uiterlijk maandag 17 januari.

Op confronterende, inspirerende en energieke wijze ondervinden deelnemende bedrijven wat de uitdagingen en kansen zijn van vernieuwende businessmodellen met maatschappelijke en ecologische impact. De wereldwijde economie en maatschappij is in transitie en wij hebben hierin een rol te spelen. Maar hoe is de vraag…  Met praktische cases wordt duidelijk wat er daadwerkelijk nodig is voor de duurzame groei van een bedrijf en vergroten van de impact op de wereld.
De workshopleider is Nick Stevens.

15.00u - 17.00u
Aanmelden kan via https://go-nh.nl/agenda/

Deze Masterclass is voor startups en innovatieve MKB-bedrijven die zich met hun baanbrekende innovaties in de groeifase bevinden. Zij hebben al tractie door omzet uit klanten en/of pilots. Ondernemers maken kennis met de succesvoorwaarden voor groei. Denk hierbij aan focus op herhaalbaarheid en schaalbaarheid van product/service, businessmodel, team, infrastructuur, verkoop en organisatie.

15:00 – 16:30
Aanmelden kan via https://go-nh.nl/agenda/

Ben jij ondernemer in de textielbranche en benieuwd naar circulaire business kansen voor jouw bedrijf?

In februari 2022 organiseert de CIRCO HUB Noord-Holland een track omtrent textiel hergebruik & recycling waarin je onder begeleiding concrete stappen zet in het (her)ontwikkelen van nieuwe, circulaire producten, diensten of businessmodellen.

Meer weten en circulaire kansen ontdekken? Neem dan snel een kijkje en meld je aan voor deze driedaagse CIRCO Track.

CIRCO Hub Noord-Holland bestaat uit Impact Hub Amsterdam, Noorderwind, Stichting Circulair West en Natuur en Milieufederatie Noord-Holland en draagt bij aan het verspreiden van kennis over circulair ontwerpen en ondernemen. Door het aanbieden van verschillende CIRCO Tracks helpen we MKB in diverse sectoren om nieuwe circulaire ondernemingskansen te ontwikkelen.

You're invited the No Waste Challenge 2021 Demo Day organized by What Design Can Do & Impact Hub Amsterdam!

About this event

We are very delighted to invite you to the Demo Day of the No Waste Challenge 2021, taking place on: Thursday 10th of February at 16:00 CET, organized by What Design Can Do and Impact Hub Amsterdam.

After taking part in the half-year Development Programme, 16 winning teams of the No Waste Challenge will present their project, business case, their ambitions and their biggest needs moving forward, such as funding to scale-up, strategic partners, launching customers and specific expertise.

Get to meet these amazing creative entrepreneurs and enter in conversations with them in different breakouts. We promise you, you’ll leave the digital space inspired and engaged!

RESERVE YOUR (ONLINE) SPOT HERE!

The No Waste Challenge called on creative entrepreneurs and designers all over the world to submit innovative, design driven solutions to the catastrophic waste issues the world is facing. From the more than 1400 entries, an international jury of design and climate experts selected the most professional, promising creative startups that submitted the most impactful and feasible design driven innovations to join the challenge’s development programme.

AMS Institute and SmartHubs are happy to announce the third episode of their webinar series on Mobility for the City of Tomorrow on 24 February from 14:00-15:00 (CET).

How to make smart mobility hubs work for everyone? The why of citizen engagement

There are quite some challenges for cities and other stakeholders to make mobility solutions well-tailored for everyone. It starts with finding suitable methods to engage and actively involve different user groups, such as citizens. Subsequently, they have to identify individual user needs with the traveller and co-create transport solutions for the traveller.

With citizen engagement, we try to provide the silent majority with an opportunity to raise their voice. If the SmartHubs project engages the citizen, the city-citizen relation will improve.

Marc Boijens and Laurens van Roozendaal will share some use cases and methods, actively involving the audience.

AMS Institute and SmartHubs are happy to announce the second episode of their webinar series on Mobility for the City of Tomorrow on 3 February from 14:00-15:00 (CET).

Decision support systems for locating smart mobility hubs

With the growing use of shared mobility modes comes the need to regulate and organize them into hub access points that offer several modes together. But there's a challenge. How should these hubs be located in a city so that they contribute to mobility sustainability and positively impact its urban fabric?

With that in mind, the SmartHubs project has been developing a decision support tool to help find the best potential areas for installing shared mobility hubs. It comprises a multi-criteria approach that integrates several objectives into the same overall potential score, providing cities with a geographical picture of where they should prioritize their investments.

Gonçalo Homem de Almeida Rodriguez Correia and Miquel Martí Casanovas will explain the method behind the decision support tool, using the city of Amsterdam as an example.

AMS Institute and SmartHubs are happy to announce the first episode of their webinar series on Mobility for the City of Tomorrow on 20 January from 14:00-15:00 (CET).

How to build the right ecosystem to make smart mobility hubs work?

An ecosystem consists of many parties, and it's beneficial for incremental innovation if there, somehow, is a connection between them. But what if your innovation is disruptive and an entire ecosystem has to undergo a transition? How do you find the right partners for your envisioned ecosystem? How can you create a common goal that is equally beneficial for all partners?

SmartHubs are not about technology but about creating an ecosystem with a solid value proposition and the right business models.

Marc Boijens and Laurens van Roozendaal will tell you more about how they tackle the challenges they encounter in the SmartHubs project.

On December 14 2021, we had a very special demo day. Of course, it was the last of the year. As the Amsterdam Smart City core team, we are very proud of all the collaborations our partners and community started and that's why we wanted to highlight a few of them. To give the demoday a typical Christmas vibe, the pitchers had a 'gift' for the participants: their lessons learned that everyone could benefit from. And the participants had a gift in return: answers to the questions of the pitchers. In short, a demo day with new projects, questioning and sharing insights!

Responsible Sensing Lab and Drones
Hidde Kamst of the City of Amsterdam tells the participants about the Responsible Sensing Lab, a collaboration between the municipality and AMS Institute. This Lab works on the implementation of (social) values in technology in the city. Cameras and sensors in public space can put values such as privacy and anonymity under pressure. The Responsible Sensing Lab researches and designs alternatives. This also applies to the subject of Responsible Drones. A group of civil servants, companies and knowledge institutions worked on a vision on the responsible use of drones. The subjects 'proportionality', 'communications' and 'rules of the game' were discussed.

Hidde’s lessons learned: behind the scenes there are many parties working on drones, but the involvement of residents and civil society is low. It is important to change this because drones can have a big impact on our society. In addition, it is a complex topic where more research is needed. Hidde's request for help 'How do you convey the urgency of a subject that is important, but not yet urgent?' was very recognizable for the participants. A selection of their ideas: repeat the urgency over and over again, visualize the urgency, use storytelling and name the risks.

Shuttercam and Measuring Public Space
Pitch 2 had a big link with Hidde's story. Tom van Arman does various sensing projects on the Marineterrein, also covered by the Responsible Sensing Lab. An example is the Shuttercam, a camera that citizens can put on or off. In this way they can have an influence on the technology in the city. We start Tom's pitch with a question to the participants. Do they find it important that we measure a lot and collect data to improve the city or would they rather see more privacy for residents? A question that provokes discussion.

Tom has been engaged in measuring and testing in the public space for years, with an important role for public values. That's why he learned a lot of lessons: make sure you take the time to get legislation in order, take vandalism into account, do everything you can to make your work understandable for citizens. And a very nice one to remember: a hot camera attracts many insects. They block the image or get into the devices. One of the best tips he got from the participants: let passers-by write down what they see. That way you can get great feedback.

Braking energy and Pilot OV E-hub
André Simonse from Firan (Alliander) introduced us to the 'braking energy' issue, or as it is now is called: the OV E-hub pilot. This started as a search with partners such as AMS Institute, Arcadis, the City of Amsterdam, the
VRA and Alliander. Now the process evolved into a collaboration between Strukton Rail, Hedgehog Applications and Firan. Big cities can no longer cope with the increasing demand for sustainable energy. This makes it more difficult to access mobility hubs, such as stations, to provide electricity. It is therefore important to use existing energy smartly.

The lessons learned in this pitch were about taking action. Although talking is important for ideation and understanding and trusting each other, the art is to work together on a targeted plan for implementation. André's request for help was on how to organize political support. Willem from the City of Amsterdam wants to be part of the initiative and can help to achieve official support.

Social side of hubs
Willem van Heijningen of the City of Amsterdam took the floor to tell us more about its hub mission. A hub can organize mobility in an effective way. Together with others, he is looking how Q-park Europarking in the center of Amsterdam can be transformed to a hub. Think of shared mobility, charging cars and logistics, while preserving the monumental character of the city. Hearing the word ‘hub’, many people will think of a place to connect different forms of mobility. But it is also about energy. At some point, vehicles, vessels or even drones will come by. Since we want to get rid of fossil fuels, a hub will also become the place where these forms of mobility are charged. The success or failure of hubs is all in the hands of people. It depends on their behavior whether hubs will be useful. Until now, they have got too little attention. T

his is where Willem could use some help: What is needed to bring the social aspect of hubs further? How does the hub prove its effectiveness towards humans? A selection of the answers from the group: investigating the needs of the residents, connect with existing social initiatives in the city, involve local entrepreneurs.

ArenAPoort LIFE
Else Veldman and Hans Roeland Poolman from AMS Institute took us on a tour to their Southeast Energy Lab. This is a collaboration to accelerate sustainability in the southeast of Amsterdam through practical research, meetings and concrete projects. One of the current projects is the LIFE project, an open platform to plan energy supply and demand in a smarter, inclusive way. An enormous ambition that is driven by partners such as Johan Cruijff ArenA, Alliander, Spectral, CoForce and the Utrecht University. AMS Institute is committed to ensuring this platform is not only a technical contribution to the energy transition, but also provides social value to the inhabitants of South-East.

Hans and Else asked the network to think about the latter. The result was a tidal wave of tips to involve residents: co-develop communication strategies such as storytelling and visualization, pay attention to the result, the dream, show what it means to participate in the process, and above all, invest time.

New narrative for the energy transition
The last pitch was about the New Narrative where Kennisland and What Design Can Do on behalf of RES Noord-Holland have been working on. Dave van Loon from Kennisland told us that a new story about the energy transition is being developed to move away from the negative image, people's concerns and to give a new impulse to the energy transition. This narrative is based on a design thinking process. Subsequently, the organizations developed building blocks to focus on:

1. a shared sense of urgency
2. a positive future perspective
3. inspiration by concrete and recognizable examples and success stories
4. a sense of pride
5. a way to take of action

Dave's request for help was for a reflection on this process. And the reactions were praising. On the one hand, the feedback focused on how to make the story as concrete as possible for the target groups and on the other hand on reaching the masses, while incorporating those who are left behind.

The next demoday will take in place in February or March. Do you have a nice story to tell or would you like to join as audience? You are more than welcome! Drop a line below to let us know!

The Creative Industry Program's main objective is to enhance creative skills in all segments of the industry, stimulating the emergence of new business opportunities, in addition to offering business representation, professional education and technology for various creative sectors.

The Program works in the development of industries through forums, and through the articulation of a network that includes universities, development agencies, government and private initiative, and creative networks. Internationally, the Creative Industry Program is a reference for countries and international organizations.

Based on the needs and opportunities identified in the economic context, the Program works to develop innovative skills, in order to create a favorable environment for business.

The Creative Industry Program seeks to develop the potential of creative entrepreneurship networks, in addition to promoting distribution through communication channels.

to know more
Send us an email to motivaco@gmail.com

The 9th episode of the series Building sustainable cities: the contribution of digital technology deals with guidelines and related ethical principles that apply to the design and application of digital technology.

One thing that keeps me awake at night is the speed at which artificial intelligence is developing and the lack of rules for its development and application said Aleksandra Mojsilović, director of IBM Science for Social Good. The European Union has a strong focus on regulations to ensure that technology is people-oriented, ensures a fair and competitive digital economy and contributes to an open, democratic and sustainable society. This relates to more than legal frameworks, also to political choices, ethical principles, and the responsibilities of the profession. This is what this post is about.

Politicians are ultimately responsible for the development, selection, application and use of (digital) technology. In this respect, a distinction must be made between:
• Coordination of digital instruments and the vision on the development of the city.
• Drawing up policy guidelines for digitization in general.
• Recognizing related ethical principles next to these policy guidelines.
• Creating the conditions for democratic oversight of the application of digital technology.
• Make an appeal to the responsibilities of the ICT professional group.

Guidelines for digitization policy

In the previous post I emphasized that the digital agenda must result from the urban policy agenda and that digital instruments and other policy instruments must be seen in mutual relation.
Below are five additional guidelines for digitization policy formulated by the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. 36 cities are involved in this initiative, including Apeldoorn, as the only Dutch municipality. The cities involved will elaborate these guidelines soon. In the meantime, I have listed some examples.

Equity, inclusiveness, and social impact
• Enabling every household to use the Internet.
• Making information and communication technology (ICT) and digital communication with government accessible to all, including the physically/mentally disabled, the elderly and immigrants with limited command of the local language.
• Assessing the impact of current digital technology on citizens and anticipating the future impact of this policy.
• Facilitating regular education and institutions for continuous learning to offer easily accessible programs to develop digital literacy.
• Challenging neighborhoods and community initiatives to explore the supportive role of digital devices in their communication and actions.

Security and resilience
• Developing a broadly supported vision on Internet security and its consequences.
• Mandatory compliance with rules and standards (for instance regarding IoT) to protect digital systems against cyberthreats.
• Becoming resilient regarding cybercrime by developing back-up systems that seamless take over services eventually.
• Building resilience against misuse of digital communication, especially bullying, intimidation and threats.
• Reducing the multitude of technology platforms and standards, to limit entry points for cyber attackers.

Privacy and transparency
• The right to move and stay in cities without being digitally surveilled, except in case of law enforcement with legal means.
• Establishing rules in a democratic manner for the collection of data from citizens in the public space.
• Minimalist collection of data by cities to enable services.
• Citizens' right to control their own data and to decide which ones are shared and under which circumstances.
• Using privacy impact assessment as a method for identifying, evaluating, and addressing privacy risks by companies, organizations, and the city itself.

Openness and interoperability
• Providing depersonalized data from as many as possible organizations to citizens and organizations as a reliable evidence base to support policy and to create open markets for interchangeable technology.
• Public registration of devices, their ownership, and their aim.
• Choosing adequate data architecture, including standards, agreements, and norms to enable reuse of digital technology and to avoid lock-ins.

Operational and financial sustainability
• Ensuring a safe and well-functioning Internet
• The coordinated approach ('dig once') of constructing and maintenance of digital infrastructure, including Wi-Fi, wired technologies and Internet of Things (IoT).
• Exploring first, whether the city can develop and manage required technology by itself, before turning to commercial parties.
• Cities, companies, and knowledge institutions share data and cooperate in a precompetitive way at innovations for mutual benefit.
• Digital solutions are feasible: Results are achieved within an agreed time, with an agreed budget.

Ethical Principles

The guidelines formulated above partly converge with the ethical principles that underlie digitization according to the Rathenau Institute. Below, I will summarize these principles.

Privacy
• Citizens' right to dispose of their own (digital) data, collected by the government, companies and other organizations.
• Limitation of the data to be collected to those are functionally necessary (privacy by design), which also prevents improper use.
• Data collection in the domestic environment only after personal permission and in the public environment only after consent by the municipal council.

Autonomy
• The right to decide about information to be received.
• The right to reject or consent to independent decision making by digital devices in the home.
• No filtering of information except in case of instructions by democratically elected bodies.

Safety
• Ensuring protection of personal data and against identity theft through encryption and biometric recognition.
• Preventing unwanted manipulation of devices by unauthorized persons.
• Providing adequate warnings against risks by providers of virtual reality software.
• Securing exchange of data

Public oversight
• Ensuring public participation in policy development related to digitization
• Providing transparency of decision-making through algorithms and opportunity to influence these decisions by human interventions.
• Decisions taken by autonomous systems always include an explanation of the underlying considerations and provide the option to appeal against this decision.

Human dignity
• Using robotics technology mainly in routinely, dangerous, and dirty work, preferably under supervision of human actors.
• Informing human actors collaborating with robots of the foundations of their operation and the possibilities to influence them.

Justice
• Ensuring equal opportunities, accessibility, and benefits for all when applying digital systems
• If autonomous systems are used to assess personal situations, the result is always checked for its fairness, certainty, and comprehensibility for the receiving party.
• In the case of autonomous analysis of human behavior, the motives on which an assessment has taken place can be checked by human intervention.
• Employees in the gig economy have an employment contract or an income as self-employed in accordance with legal standards.

Power relations
• The possibility of updating software if equipment still is usable, even if certain functionalities are no longer available.
• Companies may not use their monopoly position to antagonize other companies.
• Ensuring equal opportunities, accessibility, and benefits for all when applying digital systems.

The above guidelines and ethical principles partly overlap. Nevertheless, I have not combined them as they represent different frames of reference that are often referred to separately. The principles for digitization policy are particularly suitable for the assessment of digitization policy. The ethical principles are especially useful when assessing different technologies. That is why I will  use the latter in the following episodes.
In discussing the digitalization strategy of Amsterdam and other municipalities in later episodes, I will use a composite list of criteria, based on both the above guidelines and ethical principles. This list, titled 'Principles for a socially responsible digitization policy' can already be viewed HERE.

Democratic oversight

Currently, many municipalities still lack sufficient competencies to supervise the implementation and application of the guidelines and principles mentioned above. Moreover, they are involved as a party themselves. Therefore, setting up an independent advisory body for this purpose is desirable. In the US, almost every city now has a committee for public oversight of digitization. These committees are strongly focused on the role of the police, in particular practices related to facial recognition and predictive policing.
Several cities in the Netherlands have installed an ethics committee. A good initiative. I would also have such a committee supervise the aforementioned policy guidelines and not just the ethical principles. According to Bart Wernaart, lecturer in Moral Design Strategy at Fontys University of applied sciences, such a committee must be involved in digitization policy at an early stage, and it should also learn from mistakes in the field of digitization in the past.
The latter is especially necessary because, as the Dutch Data Protection Authority writes, the identity of an ethically responsible city is, is not set in stone. The best way to connect ethical principles and practice is to debate and questions the implications of policy in practice.

Experts’ own responsibility

A mature professional group has its own ethical principles, is monitoring their implementation, and sanctioning discordant members. In this respect, the medical world is most advanced. As far as I know, the ICT profession has not yet formulated its own ethical principles. This has been done, for example, by the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in the field of artificial intelligence. Sarah Hamid: Data scientists are generally concerned more with the abstract score metric of their models than the direct and indirect impact it can have on the world. However, experts often understand the unforeseen implications of government policy earlier than politicians. Hamid addresses the implications for professional action: If computer scientists really hoped to make a positive impact on the world, then they would need to start asking better questions. The road to technology implementation by governments is paved with failures. Professionals have often seen this coming, but have rarely warned, afraid of losing an assignment. Self-confident professionals must therefore say 'no' much more often to a job description. Hamid: Refusal is an essential practice for anyone who hopes to design sociotechnical systems in the service of justice and the public good. This even might result in a better relationship with the client and more successful projects.

Establishing policy guidelines and ethical principles for municipal digitization requires a critical municipal council and an ethics committee with relevant expertise. But it also needs professionals who carry out the assignment and enter the debate if necessary.

The link below opens a preliminary overview of the already published and upcoming articles in the series Building sustainable cities: the contribution of digital technology. Click HERE for the Dutch version.

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