Australia’s First Smart City Promises To Be Anathema To Privacy And Liberty

[Serpo]

All these smart things are really very dumb.....





Australia’s First Smart City Promises To Be Anathema To Privacy And Liberty https://www.technocracy.news/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Adelaide_Convention_Centre-777x437.jpgAdelaide Convention Centre (Wikipedia)
Written By: Max Opray (http://www.theguardian.com/profile/max-opray) May 2, 2016
TN Note: Welcome to the future of total information awareness and smart cities. Adelaide is the first Smart City that will employ everything that the Internet of Things has to offer, from camera surveillance to control over energy via smart grid. This is the beginning of Scientific Dictatorship, or Technocracy.

Stepping into the elevator at the school for computer sciences hub at Adelaide (http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/adelaide) University, Prof Ali Babar shakes his head in exasperation.
As the doors close the head of the Australian centre for smart cities mentions the woman recently found dead (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/06/woman-found-dead-in-elevator-30-days-after-power-cut-off-by-building-workers) in China 30 days after technicians attempting to fix a glitch cut power to the lift she was in and left her stranded inside.
“That’s the kind of thing that wouldn’t happen in a smart city,” he says.
Babar has just finished another day coordinating with a coalition of government, business and academia about his mission to turn Adelaide into a trial site for such innovations that could one day be rolled out across the rest of Australia and around the world.
The goal is to identify ways in which emerging digital technologies can improve how a city functions, whether traffic congestion, reducing carbon emissions or – as in the case of the elevator in Xi’an – personal safety.
“Adelaide is small enough to use as a laboratory but large enough to undertake ambitious initiatives,” he says.
“A proof of concept can be developed and tested here.”
Central to the idea of a smart city is the internet of things – everyday objects that feature online connectivity, such as elevators that actively communicate data to technicians about malfunctions and the number of passengers on board.
Other prospective technologies being looked at in the realm of safety include biometric readers that allow paramedics to obtain the medical records of an incapacitated patient via a fingerprint scan, or video recognition techniques capable of identifying suspects of a crime even if they are wearing a mask.
Initiated eight months ago, key players in the project include the University of Adelaide, the South Australian Department of State Development, Adelaide City council and companies including Ernst and Young, Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, Fuji and Xerox.
Most recently, on 3 March, Babar secured a memorandum of understanding with tech giants NEC Australia.
“We will try to brainstorm suitable projects for Adelaide by partnering with [NEC Australia], sharing findings and making those findings available to the general public,” he says.
“That in turn will stimulate further collaboration with industry partners and government.”
NEC Australia’s South Australian state manager, Milan Djuricic, says NEC was involved in a similar initiative in Britain as part of the Bristol Is Open project (http://www.bristolisopen.com/), to which the company contributed software-defined networking (SDN) compatible switches, LTE small cells and iPasolink ultra-compact microwave systems.
“It was a similar arrangement to Adelaide in that a major university [Bristol University] was involved and there was a joint effort,” he says.
He says Adelaide was attractive for NEC because it offered a solid foundation of infrastructure to build upon, a receptive political environment, and particular challenges that Bristol did not present.
“We can take things further in Adelaide in relation to energy management and water management, given South Australia is the driest state in the driest country,” he says.
“NEC has leading global technologies in relation to water leakage detection which help identify failures before they fail.
“That means investment can be made in the right areas to prevent water leakage.”
NEC also has plenty to offer when it comes to public safety, with the company’s biometric identification technologies already being used on the smartphones of South Australian and Northern Territory police to enable immediate identification of members of the public.


https://www.technocracy.news/index.php/2016/05/02/australias-first-smart-city-promises-anathema-privacy/

[midnight rambler]

Oh no. No, no, no, this is not good.

[Glass]

it has to be done for the people dying in elevators. These kind of tragedies must be discovered sooner.

[midnight rambler]

it has to be done for the people dying in elevators. These kind of tragedies must be discovered sooner.

Yeah, way too many people dying in elevators...must be in the tens of thousands if not the hundreds of thousands.

[mamboni]

Shades of the great Krell machine come to mind...

[Glass]

Shades of the great Krell machine come to mind...

Leslie Nielson? I wonder if I saw that movie. Looks familiar. Probably in a sci fi movie marathon back in the day. B, C and D grade movie marathons were great. Franskentien movies, vampires, werewolfs, all sorts of sci fi. How to serve man. It's a cook book you know.

[mamboni]

Leslie Nielson? I wonder if I saw that movie. Looks familiar. Probably in a sci fi movie marathon back in the day. B, C and D grade movie marathons were great. Franskentien movies, vampires, werewolfs, all sorts of sci fi. How to serve man. It's a cook book you know.

Right - movie was Forbidden Planet and it starred a young Leslie Nielson. Remember what happened when the all-knowing all-controlling alien machine was activated: all of the collective subconscious hatred, jealousy, power lust and entitlement was instantly actuated. The entire civilization murdered itself.

Well, the city would have a total awareness virtual real-time computer grid. They would know the status of everyone and everything all of the time. The potential for abuse by government a given, imagine the mischief a hacker could cause.

[Glass]

Well, the city would have a total awareness virtual real-time computer grid. They would know the status of everyone and everything all of the time. The potential for abuse by government a given, imagine the mischief a hacker could cause.

that is definitely the purpose of the smart grid - internet of things. Total control grid. The ability to turn your stuff on or off. Enforce even more "scare-city" - need to cut your power for 16 hours a day because the world is meltiing.

[Serpo]

They turned off the elevator in China and didnt check if someone was inside it, then came back a month later........what idiots ,,,,smart cities would prevent this.....ahhhahaha


If we have a smart city then its ok for us to be stupid I guess or if we where not stupid before we would be after because the city will be smarter than us....................

Still Ive always thought cities are stupid places to live.



http://www.futurecities.org.au/projects/smart-cities



(http://www.futurecities.org.au/projects/smart-cities)

Smart People are the key to Smart Cities - Paul Budde (http://www.futurecities.org.au/blog/smart-people-are-the-key-to-smart-cities)
FACT SHEET: Administration Announces New “Smart Cities” Initiative to Help Communities Tackle Local Challenges and Improve City Services - The White House (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/09/14/fact-sheet-administration-announces-new-%E2%80%9Csmart-cities%E2%80%9D-initiative-help)






(http://www.futurecities.org.au/projects/smart-cities)http://www.theguardian.com/cities/smart-cities




The smart mattress cover will also inform you if you have not had sex for a while…



https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/04/tech-home-future-robots-living-smart

[Glass]

yes, its a non problem used as a trigger to take away rights and privacy.

I dislike Mr Budde. A proponent of the "Common Purpose" talking all the same progressive clap trap they are in the UK. In the UK councils are being turned back in to fifedoms that can make up their own arbitary laws that do not include any deference to the rule of law or any method of review or appeal such as a court or peer jury. Times are becoming extremely dangerous for us all.

[palani]

Richard Lovelace. 1618–1658
To Althea, from Prison

Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone, that soar above,
Enjoy such liberty.

[agnut]

Right - movie was Forbidden Planet and it starred a young Leslie Nielson. Remember what happened when the all-knowing all-controlling alien machine was activated: all of the collective subconscious hatred, jealousy, power lust and entitlement was instantly actuated. The entire civilization murdered itself.

Well, the city would have a total awareness virtual real-time computer grid. They would know the status of everyone and everything all of the time. The potential for abuse by government a given, imagine the mischief a hacker could cause.

Hey mamboni, you’re talkin’ my all time favorite scifi movie. I probably still have the VHS tape of the movie. It cost me about $60 when it first came out; I probably couldn’t get more than a dollar today.

Although Leslie Nielson starred, he was largely portrayed on one level, mostly leering at the incredibly saucy Anne Francis. I think of her from time to time but that is a subject better shared on another kind of website, if you know what I mean. Walter Pidgeon acted on the level of id, ego and superego and the devastating discovery that the Krell peoples’ technology had gone too far without first understanding the dangers of implementing a new technology. Brings to mind what Oppenheimer said after having developed the atom bomb, “Now, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”.

Another example of one’s “reach exceeding their grasp”.

Funny but at times I still feel regrets of having missed bidding for the Robby the Robot prop in the movie. It was sold to a southern California prop museum in 1970. I can only imagine the change in my life if I had actually owned the original Robby the Robot. Not the monetary gain but the social connections that would have inevitably occurred. The year before I had the decision of whether to buy this 1961 Porsche or the car sitting next to it. They were both in need of restoration but all the parts were there. And the price was the same for either car, $1,000. What was “the other car” you ask ? It was a 1956 Mercedes gullwing. I knew the potential of the gullwing but being a college student I didn’t have a place to keep the car until I could restore it. So I bought the Porsche and restored it instead. Unfortunately, the day before it was to be traded for a MGTD and cash, I had a head on collision with a Lincoln Continental which totaled both cars. The last thing I remembered was going backward, the Lincoln outweighing me and my car by about three to one. Perhaps a good thing that I didn’t restore the gullwing instead.

My dad was so relieved that I wasn’t hurt that after the other driver paid off that he said that I could get any car I wanted (with my own money, of course). So what do you think I did ? No, no; I didn’t buy a Dodge or a Ford. I bought a 1963 Corvette split window. It was the first year of the Corvette Sting Ray and the only year of the split window. This was no ordinary ’63 Stingray. You see, it had been a drag car taken right off the Carlsbad raceway with no modifications for street use. It had been punched out, had an Offenhauser high rise manifold, a hot cam, wide American mag wheels with rear drag slicks and a scattershield bellhousing so that if the flywheel flew off, it wouldn’t cut your legs off ! It put out a reputed 450 HP and would smoke the tires in all four gears. The cops used to follow me around, waiting to pounce if I leadfooted. I drove it to San Diego State for a while before selling it and moving to Miami. What a fun machine; I was glad to have had the experience.

Life has been a wild ride and only lately have I taken the time to reflect upon the many events which have brought me to where I am now. So much of our experiences’ impact upon who we have become that I could write a book about the cause and much later effect of actions which were founded upon some event in the far past which to the most part remain unconnected. Cause and effect.

The mind is more complicated that most can ever realize and it plays tricks sometimes. An unfulfilled dream in early life can find one searching in later life. I know, it has happened to me. But that is a story for another post. Voltaire said “God is a comedian, playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh”. Maybe this is why I have such a fondness for the movie Forbidden Planet.

Will we humans end up like the Krell people as we stumble into the future ? I can’t say but all the warning signs are there.

This post didn’t start out this way but it has become a thanks to you for your being here on our website. There are so many members who share so many wonderful experiences which enrich our lives by understanding that we are not crazy (well, not completely) but only one who has a deeper understanding of how things work in this mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Sometimes I think of what kind of world we would have if the members right here on our website were to be in positions of authority to make changes for the betterment of humanity. Oh well, another wild ride to contemplate.

Best wishes,

Agnut

I am said to be a revolutionist in my sympathies, by birth, by breeding and by principle. I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolute. Mark Twain

Who are the oppressors? The few: the King, the capitalist, and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat. Mark Twain

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success. "
Ralph Waldo Emerson

[ximmy]

Forbidden planet, I just discovered last year. Great movie.

This city seem a little more in line with Logan's Run.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiadqeMSzak

https://plazalondon.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/picture-20.png

[mamboni]

Hey mamboni, you’re talkin’ my all time favorite scifi movie. I probably still have the VHS tape of the movie. It cost me about $60 when it first came out; I probably couldn’t get more than a dollar today.

Although Leslie Nielson starred, he was largely portrayed on one level, mostly leering at the incredibly saucy Anne Francis. I think of her from time to time but that is a subject better shared on another kind of website, if you know what I mean. Walter Pidgeon acted on the level of id, ego and superego and the devastating discovery that the Krell peoples’ technology had gone too far without first understanding the dangers of implementing a new technology. Brings to mind what Oppenheimer said after having developed the atom bomb, “Now, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds”.

Another example of one’s “reach exceeding their grasp”.

Funny but at times I still feel regrets of having missed bidding for the Robby the Robot prop in the movie. It was sold to a southern California prop museum in 1970. I can only imagine the change in my life if I had actually owned the original Robby the Robot. Not the monetary gain but the social connections that would have inevitably occurred. The year before I had the decision of whether to buy this 1961 Porsche or the car sitting next to it. They were both in need of restoration but all the parts were there. And the price was the same for either car, $1,000. What was “the other car” you ask ? It was a 1956 Mercedes gullwing. I knew the potential of the gullwing but being a college student I didn’t have a place to keep the car until I could restore it. So I bought the Porsche and restored it instead. Unfortunately, the day before it was to be traded for a MGTD and cash, I had a head on collision with a Lincoln Continental which totaled both cars. The last thing I remembered was going backward, the Lincoln outweighing me and my car by about three to one. Perhaps a good thing that I didn’t restore the gullwing instead.

My dad was so relieved that I wasn’t hurt that after the other driver paid off that he said that I could get any car I wanted (with my own money, of course). So what do you think I did ? No, no; I didn’t buy a Dodge or a Ford. I bought a 1963 Corvette split window. It was the first year of the Corvette Sting Ray and the only year of the split window. This was no ordinary ’63 Stingray. You see, it had been a drag car taken right off the Carlsbad raceway with no modifications for street use. It had been punched out, had an Offenhauser high rise manifold, a hot cam, wide American mag wheels with rear drag slicks and a scattershield bellhousing so that if the flywheel flew off, it wouldn’t cut your legs off ! It put out a reputed 450 HP and would smoke the tires in all four gears. The cops used to follow me around, waiting to pounce if I leadfooted. I drove it to San Diego State for a while before selling it and moving to Miami. What a fun machine; I was glad to have had the experience.

Life has been a wild ride and only lately have I taken the time to reflect upon the many events which have brought me to where I am now. So much of our experiences’ impact upon who we have become that I could write a book about the cause and much later effect of actions which were founded upon some event in the far past which to the most part remain unconnected. Cause and effect.

The mind is more complicated that most can ever realize and it plays tricks sometimes. An unfulfilled dream in early life can find one searching in later life. I know, it has happened to me. But that is a story for another post. Voltaire said “God is a comedian, playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh”. Maybe this is why I have such a fondness for the movie Forbidden Planet.

Will we humans end up like the Krell people as we stumble into the future ? I can’t say but all the warning signs are there.

This post didn’t start out this way but it has become a thanks to you for your being here on our website. There are so many members who share so many wonderful experiences which enrich our lives by understanding that we are not crazy (well, not completely) but only one who has a deeper understanding of how things work in this mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Sometimes I think of what kind of world we would have if the members right here on our website were to be in positions of authority to make changes for the betterment of humanity. Oh well, another wild ride to contemplate.

Best wishes,

Agnut

I am said to be a revolutionist in my sympathies, by birth, by breeding and by principle. I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolute. Mark Twain

Who are the oppressors? The few: the King, the capitalist, and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat. Mark Twain

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success. "
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Agnut:

First, thank you for the kind words. This forum has been my virtual spiritual and intellectual sanctuary since it's birth. For two years, my life was thrown into a veritable tailspin that marooned me to a dark painful place away from the few things in life that I had enjoyed and thrived on: this forum, my music, my home. I continued in my medical practice in automatic fashion, operating purely on logic and suppressing almost all emotion and interpersonal interactions during those dark years. Now that legal matters are winding down and finances are settled, my mind was free to re-engage. I have re-started my music collection-listening hobby with vigor; I've re-engaged with a select few personal acquaintances; and I have returned to this fine forum. I have decided to abort a contemplated plan to return to french horn playing because of my age (I'm 59 and in perfect health) and time restraints (horn playing puts extraordinary strain on the cardiovascular system).

You have lead a interesting, if at times adventurous life. That is good; because you and I and our similar elder brethren here now realize all too clearly how quickly life moves on and how doors begin to close. So it is important to sieze the day. I'm glad that you survived your automobile travail and remain in one peace.

It's no surprise that we share a strong afinity for that great classic Forbidden Planet. I think you and I and the members here have some basic characteristics in common. We are vigorous thinkers - we like to mull things over, analyze them, understand them. We have an intrinsic distrust of the status quo. We hunger for deeper understanding of life, of existence, of who we are vis-a-vis universal existence. And, we cherish truth, in is pure clarion unvarnished form. We instinctually know that knowledge of the truth is what connects us to our ancestors and our progeny for all eternity. We lament that most of mankind are creatures of comfort and prone to intellectual stasis. We refuse to allow our brains to stagnate. We embrace the continual discomfort of change and growth. We are restless souls. I think this forum has accomplished many great discoveries about the times we live in. Thus members here have collectively exposed the many lies and deceptions that rule our present zeit geist. In our own small way, we are doing what we can to enlighten folk and wake up the masses. We have at our disposal the most powerful tool for the dissemination of knowledge ever devised (by man), the internet. So, it is a great time to be alive and to be awake!

I salute you. You sound like a fun bloak to hang with. Maybe we'll cross paths one day, if the fates allow.

mamboni