Does 'smarter' necessarily mean 'safer'? “Smart City” projects around the world do claim so. Smart cities are often characterised by prominent deployment of technological devices and mechanisms of data aggregation. Framing them as essential to having safe living spaces has grave implications on human dignity, privacy and basic liberties. Dr. Maša Galič takes us through her fascinating work on the ‘Stratumseind living lab’, a smart city project in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Her work showcases newer techniques of predictive policing through the use of light and sound in a smart city and encompasses the larger debates around technological solutionism,  privacy in public places and repercussions on autonomy and self-development.

Guest profile: Maša Galič is assistant professor in Data Protection and Criminal Procedure  Law at the Criminal law & criminology department of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam; NL). Prior to this, she was a researcher at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (Tilburg University; NL), where she obtained her PhD in 2019 on the topic of privacy and surveillance in smart cities. Maša's current research focuses on the regulation of digital investigation powers for law enforcement purposes, which function at the intersection of criminal procedure law and data protection law. Her other research interests include cybercrime, privacy, surveillance and smart cities.”

Hosts: Prabhat Mishra & Mandira Narain