LibraryScenariosHow smart city technology creeps toward authoritarianism
Scenario

How smart city technology creeps toward authoritarianism

My city installed smart streetlights that can monitor crowds and I voted for them thinking about traffic but now I wonder if we just built our own surveillance state.

Laozi
Online
The coach is replying

More people experience this than they realize.

What we've seen

Well-intentioned civic technology adoption creates infrastructure that can be repurposed for democratic suppression without additional public consent.

Ideas that help explain it
Worth thinking about

“Where Are You with Technology and democracy?”

If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.