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Information and telecommunications infrastructure is our most recent urban amenity. Today, wireless voice, data and Internet connectivity and increasingly digital transmission are enabling new types of economic and community interaction. In this episode, we discuss how information and communications technology (ICT) can shape the urban environment, and how cities can create opportunities for ICT.
To quote Dr Maria Lema, the ‘Smart City’ should be one which “improves efficiency and provides a better quality of life for all citizens.” For this, we need to address challenges, from a lack of standardisation and processes, to lagging infrastructure and domineering telecoms providers, to technology negatively impacting the climate. Digital infrastructure and technologies must be accessible and affordable if they are to create employment opportunities, improve quality of life, and manage resources for all.
Data is what makes a city smart. It helps optimise - and even democratise - services such as transport and healthcare. 5G, with its lower cost of ownership, is changing the way cities operate. A local authority can provide services without relying on traditional network operators. Through artificial intelligence, as Briana Brownell states, there could be fundamental changes in how we live our lives from birth, but citizens must be engaged so that they are able to have agency. This is starting to change. In all these areas, policy and financing need to be strategic, and mindful of the contexts in which the technology operates.
In summary, when deployed well, ICT enables cities to make judicious use of the planet’s resources and creates new, equitable social and economic openings and interactions.
SPEAKERS
DR MARIA LEMA PHD
Co-Founder,
Weaver Labs
With a PhD in Telecoms, Maria is the Co-Founder of Weaver Labs, a Tech Start-up innovating in the telecoms industry. After a short life as a researcher, she joined the Team at King's College London to work at the 5G Tactile Internet Lab powered by Ericsson. I led projects and teams working on connectivity solutions to real-life business problems: from transmitting the sense of touch to doctors while teleoperating, to connecting different musicians around the world to give the audience a different concert experience. She is also an ambassador of Wagora, a Women in Tech society.
BRIANA BROWNELL
CEO,
Pure Strategy Inc.
Briana Brownell is a data scientist turned tech entrepreneur, investor, futurist and innovator. Widely considered a visionary technologist, she is a frequent keynote speaker, expert and author, known for making highly technical topics accessible to non-experts, as well as leading a thoughtful technical discussion on the science behind AI.
Brownell is founder and CEO of Pure Strategy Inc., a technology company whose leading edge Automated Neural Intelligence Engine (ANIE) combines natural language processing, machine learning, and neural networks to give organizations the insights needed to make decisions confidently.
CHARITY
For this episode we will be supporting ELEVEN CAMPAIGN by donating £100 for Every 100 Listeners which will allow :
100 packages of food, 1 educational workshop & 10 footballs