The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) organised an Asia Thinker Series webinar titled "Smart Cities and Digital Economy Development in the 5G Era" on 12 January 2021. The session was moderated by Professor Zhou Zhiying, Director of NUS (Suzhou) Research Institute, featuring guests Mr. Ben Tian, Dean of SenseTime Intelligent Industry Research Institute, and Associate Professor Gu Qingyang, from LKYSPP. The two guests shared about "The Evolution of a 'Visual City'" and "Singapore's Smart City Infrastructure" respectively, interacting and answering questions posed by online viewers.
Clockwise from top right: Associate Professor Zhou Zhiying, Associate Professor Gu Qingyang, Mr Ben Tian
The seminar began with Mr Tian sharing about the age of smart city development. He talked about the West-East Electricity Transmission Project in China and the ability to store energy as large amounts of electricity generated in western China have to be given up at present time. We have to store electricity when usage is low, and tap on the reserves when usage increases.
Another important aspect of infrastructure is the building of new and "smart" infrastructure, which refers to sensor deployments to network foundations. For example, inter-city railways like the Beijing-Shanghai railway require regular inspection of the electric suspension system. We can now fit numerous high precision cameras on a train carriage which will travel on the Beijing-Shanghai rail. A visual algorithm is employed to discern any defects and potential safety issues instantly and accurately. We can also equip highways with V2X smart sensors, which will speed up the progression from L4 to L5 autonomous driving. Singapore has an advantage due to its relatively compact land area, which makes it easier to build sensing infrastructure for self-driving across the whole island. This includes smart streetlamps, smart traffic lights and sensors with or without visibility. On the other hand, China can only implement L2 to L4 autonomous driving in stages across regions due to its huge land area.
The Ideal "Smart City": Westworld Season 3
Clockwise from top left: Quantum computing in city governance, air taxis, robot companions, self-driving
The Chinese government mentioned the "speeding up of urban and community governance modernisation" in its 14th Five-Year Plan. Therefore, it is crucial to introduce new technology that will improve the quality of urban governance. We can use the government's push for "street stall economy" last summer as a case study to illustrate this key area. In order to combat the hygiene and safety issues that may arise out of this form of informal economic model, visual governance was deployed to improve the city's governance. For example, cameras can be fitted on the street stall trucks to monitor any littering incidents. It can also be used to check if the owner has sublet the stall truck. The cameras can provide useful information should there be any violations of consumer rights, or security issues that may arise. At the same time, the same infrastructure can be used to determine the level of demand in specific areas, such as for supper or alcohol at specific timings in specific areas. Relevant stall trucks can be sent to those areas to satisfy the substantive demands. These smart sensors can improve allocation of public and commercial resources to better fulfil individual demands.
Cities are contradictory in nature, as they have to satisfy unlimited, personalised needs with limited public resources. We may see a fundamental solution to the issues caused by urbanisation in the next 30 years, like migration to Mars. Meanwhile, the use of AI can better allocate the resources on hand in this transition period.
Prof Gu shared his thoughts about Singapore's digital infrastructure and its Smart Nation initiative. Indeed, the digital economy brings about radical changes that may completely transform the development of many industries. It provides developing countries the opportunity to surpass developed countries at a faster pace than before. Digital economies can provide leverage and influence to create vast, revolutionary innovations. In fact, smart cities provide the platform and infrastructure to implement digital economies. Smart cities gather modern digital technologies – like AI, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and more – and utilise them in the urban space.
Singapore has always placed great emphasis on the digital economy. Prof Gu also touched on the two aspects of the Smart Nation initiative; the digital economy, and digital governance. In other words, it has connected the idea of digital economy and smart nation closely together.
After all, both digital economies and smart cities require large amounts of data to be collected and processed.
The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the function and effectiveness of digital economies and smart cities. Society will suffer greater losses if not for these modern technologies. Therefore, digital economies and smart city initiatives can improve a city's ability to adapt and respond to large-scale threats like this one. There are many lessons to be learned here. When faced with a catastrophic pandemic such as COVID-19, we are able to cope incredibly well thanks to the digital economy. This leaves us to wonder if we should strive for better integration of the digital economy into a smart city; it will solve some pressing urban development issues today. For example, how do we best utilise digital economies and digital technologies when faced with a major disaster?
Singapore has done a decent job in progressing towards becoming a smart city. It took top spot in the Smart City Index Report for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020. What problems do smart city initiatives solve? For countries like China that are trying to progress from a middle-income to high-income economy, they will face the "middle income trap". One of the main issues of the "middle income trap" is urban slums that result from poor urban planning and development. For a developing country to achieve quality urban development that will help in its progress towards a high-income economy, smart city initiatives will play extremely important roles.
Furthermore, cities are under immense pressure to grow and develop in the face of a knowledge economy and information technology. Most, if not all, cities have limited resources at hand, but they have to satisfy all conceivable human wants. How can we utilise smart city initiatives to overcome obstacles brought about by limited resources? For example, an ageing population causes immense management and economic pressure. The people will have growing expectations of the government to provide relevant services. Yet, we often face the problem of insufficient manpower and resources.
Prof Gu noted that smart cities face the challenge of integrating infrastructure into urban governance, which will prove to be a key challenge for future smart city infrastructures. The people must benefit from the initiatives, which will boost urban productivity, providing radical improvement to our quality of living. It's crucial that smart cities do not become cold and sterile. A smart city must retain its harmony and coexist with its culture and heritage. We must not lose touch with our history and culture. There are two aspects to the Singapore government's vision. It strives to be "digital to the core" while "serving with heart". "Digital to the core" describes the government's effort to integrate the digital economy into all areas and industries. Meanwhile, it continues to "serve with heart", automating work to improve efficiency while retaining the human touch. Thus, these advancements will be able to satisfy the people's needs.
Do the city planners build infrastructure with the people and society in mind? This is key to the success of smart city initiatives. For example, how can we ensure inclusivity so that the poor and disadvantaged, as well as small businesses, can benefit from this? A smart city's inclusive development is more important than its infrastructure. In terms of actual implementation of smart city initiatives, there should be a top-down design with emphasis on planning, foresight and long-term impact. These are important factors as Singapore develops as a smart city.
There are ethical issues behind both digital economies and smart cities and these advancements are like double-edged swords. Opening this Pandora's box will reveal direct conflicts of ethics and moral values. For example, the infringement of public rights and the individual's privacy, going against the original intention to better society, exacerbating social inequality, or irreversible harm to the environment that may endanger the survival of mankind.
We have to consider the effects of AI technology on mankind. Ultimately, these technologies should exist to serve us, not to control our fate.
Photo by 尧智 林 on Unsplash
Watch the full recording of Smart Cities and Digital Economy Development in the 5G Era below