Reflection on wise cities and AI in community: Sustainable life spaces and kampung storytelling

• Main Authors: FINDLAY, Mark, ONG, Li Min
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Commercial Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/ccla/2; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=ccla
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This short paper is a reflection following our presentation made at the ASEAN Law Research Network’s conference on Sustainable Development and Commerce in ASEAN Cities. We had wanted to introduce our thinking, given the strong interest in developing smart cities in the region. We want to emphasise the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in the sustainable development of cities, particularly the voice of social scientists which tends to get left out in discussions over technology. In the race towards “smart” urbanisation, there is a real risk that history and culture – things that give a city “life” – could get decimated if digital transformations are not grounded in the community. We are very conscious that coming from Singapore, a well-to-do country and arguably already a successful smart city, our views could be dismissed by our neighbours as superfluous or, worse, hypocritical. We stress that we are not at cross purposes with the growth imperatives of developing nations. Our story is that of a return to the community which we think resonates beyond development.