8 ms·

> It could be the coolest new neighborhood on the planet—or a peek into the Orwellian metropolis that knows everything you did last night. A refreshingly descr

by unit91 8y ago

> It could be the coolest new neighborhood on the planet—or a peek into the Orwellian metropolis that knows everything you did last night. A refreshingly descriptive subtitle!

ggggtez 8y ago
This article has been posted here a few times. I understand people hate FAANG, but let's be honest about the fact that this is a fluff piece, and that having smog sensors built into a few city blocks is not at all similar. There are so many legitimate things to be concerned about, and this has got to be about the least concerning thing out there.
- unit91 8y ago
  Did you read the article? Here's one paragraph: > In Toronto, Sidewalk sketches out a picture of a neighborhood where intelligent “pay-as-you-throw” garbage chutes separate out recyclables and charge households by waste output; where hyperlocal weather sensors could detect a coming squall and heat up a snow-melting sidewalk. Apps would tell residents when the Adirondack chairs on the waterfront are open, and neighbors would crowdsource approvals for block-party permits, giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down based on the noise the gathering was expected to produce. Traffic signals could auto-calibrate to ease pedestrian congestion during public events, or to ensure a smooth rush hour. The data from such systems would feed back into the city, which would constantly learn, optimizing its own operations from month to month, year to year. Sidewalk promises “the most measurable community in the world.” "The most measurable community in the world". That's well beyond "smog sensors built into a few city blocks".
  - darpa_escapee 8y ago
    > The data from such systems would feed back into the city, which would constantly learn, optimizing its own operations from month to month, year to year. All so we can better extract a profit from our u̶s̶e̶r̶s̶ citizens.
  - ggggtez 8y ago
    1984 was about totalitarianism. You're talking about being annoyed that your garbage will be done by micropayments instead of a flat fee. If you can't see the difference then you should read up on this place called USSR.
    - s2g 8y ago
      If you can't see that this sort of thing is headed towards the surveillance state of 1984 then you need to wake up. There is a constant push towards more and more government and corporate surveillance.
    - krageon 8y ago
      Any good totalitarian state implements the most ubiquitous surveillance they can. When the framework for that is already present, it becomes much easier to birth something like that. It's very easy to avoid creating a fertile breeding ground for totalitarian governance, and a factor of that's not having ubiquitous surveillance.
  - forgottenpass 8y ago
    >neighbors would crowdsource approvals for block-party permits Oh boy, a digital HOA. Wow, Google, I can't wait!
theandrewbailey 8y ago
One day, you come back to your apartment. It's locked, and won't accept your AUTHENTICATION_METHOD. (Your technocrat landlords despise plain old metal keys to open doors. What are you, a peasant?) There's a note on the door saying that you've violated the terms of service and that your account has been terminated. You're locked away from all your stuff! You try to get some answers from the robot downstairs, but it's unsympathetic to your situation, and it won't listen to an unperson.
- jacquesm 8y ago
  > You're locked away from all your stuff! No, that's not how it will go. It will go like this: one day you come home to your apartment, it's locked and won't accept your AUTHENTICATION_METHOD. The noise causes the door to be opened and the new tenant asks you to be quiet in the hallway. Your stuff was moved out and disposed off, after your digital media were scanned for patentable ideas (you really should have read the fine print). Your cat has been uploaded and is fortunately still available as a construct so you really have nothing to complain about (that was a courtesy).
  - chocolatebunny 8y ago
    I can't figure out if the cat thing is a Douglas Adams thing or a Kurt Vonnegut thing.
    - arbitrary_name 8y ago
      More of a Charles Strauss thing maybe?
      - jacquesm 8y ago
        At least get the man's name right, he's a member here. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=cstross https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=cstross
    - jacquesm 8y ago
      http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=56 http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=56

by unit91 8y ago

> It could be the coolest new neighborhood on the planet—or a peek into the Orwellian metropolis that knows everything you did last night. A refreshingly descriptive subtitle!

ggggtez 8y ago

This article has been posted here a few times. I understand people hate FAANG, but let's be honest about the fact that this is a fluff piece, and that having smog sensors built into a few city blocks is not at all similar. There are so many legitimate things to be concerned about, and this has got to be about the least concerning thing out there.

unit91 8y ago
Did you read the article? Here's one paragraph: > In Toronto, Sidewalk sketches out a picture of a neighborhood where intelligent “pay-as-you-throw” garbage chutes separate out recyclables and charge households by waste output; where hyperlocal weather sensors could detect a coming squall and heat up a snow-melting sidewalk. Apps would tell residents when the Adirondack chairs on the waterfront are open, and neighbors would crowdsource approvals for block-party permits, giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down based on the noise the gathering was expected to produce. Traffic signals could auto-calibrate to ease pedestrian congestion during public events, or to ensure a smooth rush hour. The data from such systems would feed back into the city, which would constantly learn, optimizing its own operations from month to month, year to year. Sidewalk promises “the most measurable community in the world.” "The most measurable community in the world". That's well beyond "smog sensors built into a few city blocks".
- darpa_escapee 8y ago
  > The data from such systems would feed back into the city, which would constantly learn, optimizing its own operations from month to month, year to year. All so we can better extract a profit from our u̶s̶e̶r̶s̶ citizens.
- ggggtez 8y ago
  1984 was about totalitarianism. You're talking about being annoyed that your garbage will be done by micropayments instead of a flat fee. If you can't see the difference then you should read up on this place called USSR.
  - s2g 8y ago
    If you can't see that this sort of thing is headed towards the surveillance state of 1984 then you need to wake up. There is a constant push towards more and more government and corporate surveillance.
  - krageon 8y ago
    Any good totalitarian state implements the most ubiquitous surveillance they can. When the framework for that is already present, it becomes much easier to birth something like that. It's very easy to avoid creating a fertile breeding ground for totalitarian governance, and a factor of that's not having ubiquitous surveillance.
- forgottenpass 8y ago
  >neighbors would crowdsource approvals for block-party permits Oh boy, a digital HOA. Wow, Google, I can't wait!

theandrewbailey 8y ago

One day, you come back to your apartment. It's locked, and won't accept your AUTHENTICATION_METHOD. (Your technocrat landlords despise plain old metal keys to open doors. What are you, a peasant?) There's a note on the door saying that you've violated the terms of service and that your account has been terminated. You're locked away from all your stuff! You try to get some answers from the robot downstairs, but it's unsympathetic to your situation, and it won't listen to an unperson.

jacquesm 8y ago
> You're locked away from all your stuff! No, that's not how it will go. It will go like this: one day you come home to your apartment, it's locked and won't accept your AUTHENTICATION_METHOD. The noise causes the door to be opened and the new tenant asks you to be quiet in the hallway. Your stuff was moved out and disposed off, after your digital media were scanned for patentable ideas (you really should have read the fine print). Your cat has been uploaded and is fortunately still available as a construct so you really have nothing to complain about (that was a courtesy).
- chocolatebunny 8y ago
  I can't figure out if the cat thing is a Douglas Adams thing or a Kurt Vonnegut thing.
  - arbitrary_name 8y ago
    More of a Charles Strauss thing maybe?
    - jacquesm 8y ago
      At least get the man's name right, he's a member here. https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=cstross https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=cstross
  - jacquesm 8y ago
    http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=56 http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=56