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When coming across articles about new technologies and its applications, I always feel that the city Dubai pops op a lot. It sure isn’t a poor city, and they are setting great initiatives in motion when it comes to digital. Therefore, I thought it to be interesting to sum up some of these technology/ digital initiatives as I feel Dubai will be a first-mover when it comes to smart cities and governments, setting a great example to follow for other cities.

To begin with, Dubai sets its government on a mission to be ten years ahead of all other cities, with focusing on radical innovations rather than incremental innovations (Dubaifuture, 2017).

3D printing strategy
Dubai aims to be the leading hub of 3D printing technology, where in 2025 it aims to have 1.7 billion medical products and 2.8 billion consumer products, all 3D printed. Also, by 2030 25% of Dubai’s buildings will be 3D printed (Dubaifuture, 2017).

Autonomous transportation strategy
By 2030, 25% of all transportation in Dubai will be autonomous, leading to considerable reductions in transportation costs and environmental pollution, as well as increasing productivity hours and public transport efficiency (Dubaifuture, 2017).  As we speak Dubai is setting in place autonomous taxi services, with 50 autonomous Tesla cars already put to work a month ago (Futurism, 2017).

Dubai Blockchain Initiative
Dubai has set a goal to become the first blockchain powered government by 2020, which means all implementable transactions will be done through blockchain technology. As part of the strategy, Dubai is actively looking and offering jobs to developers in the Dubai Blockchain Initiative (Ciomajlis, 2017).

These initiatives are just a few set by Dubai’s government, as there are a lot more smart developments going on in and for this city (Smartcitiesdubai, 2017). The Dubai police force, for example, is deploying robot policemen as it hopes to replace a quarter (25%) of its human cops with droid cops by 2030 (Forbes, 2017)! One thing is for sure, Dubai is very forward-thinking when it comes to the application of new technologies and the goals that are set. It strives to be leading by example in the field of technology, which personally I think is very interesting and worth to keep your eye on!

References:

Ciomajlis. (2017). Dubai rapidly moving toward becoming the world’s first blockchain powered government by 2020. Retrieved from https://www.ciomajlis.ae/dubai-rapidly-moving-toward-becoming-the-worlds-first-blockchain-powered-government-by-2020/ on 18/10/2017.

Dubaifuture. (2017). Our initiatives. Retrieved from http://www.dubaifuture.gov.ae/our-initiatives/ on 18/10/2017.

Forbes. (2017). Meet The Terrifying New Robot Cop That’s Patrolling Dubai. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susannahbreslin/2017/06/03/robot-cop-dubai/#183a59846872 on 18/10/2017.

Futurism. (2017). Dubai Jump Starts Autonomous Taxi Service With 50 Tesla Vehicles. Retrieved from https://futurism.com/dubai-jump-starts-autonomous-taxi-service-with-50-tesla-vehicles/ on 18/10/2017.

Smartcitiesdubai. (2017). Arab future cities summit Dubai 2017. Retrieved from http://www.smartcitiesdubai.com/ on 19/10/2017.

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Usage of micro-chipping technology in our everyday lives has rapidly been growing. Nowadays, RFID (Radio-frequency identification) chip technology is being used in phones, cards, products and animals for example. As this technology comes with lots of advantages, would there be a chance that we start seeing the implementation of RFID chips in humans too any time soon? This article focuses shortly on some of the advantages of human micro-chipping, as well as some privacy concerns that could follow along.

As a matter of fact, human microchipping is already reality, as two companies are already offering their employees the injection of a microchip into their hands. The chip contains personal information, allows access and an employee could even buy a snack with it (forbes.com 2017 ; Dailymail.co.uk 2017). Besides within just a company, this sort of chipping could come with various advantages if being viewed in a broader perspective.

Convenience
An RFID implant can hold all kinds of information, which could basically mean that we do not need to carry around our wallets and keys anymore. Bank accounts, as well as personal information (identification/medical records) could be linked to this chip and therefore you may not need passports and cards anymore for example. Think about the numerous potential applications that this could have in terms of convenience, but also in health (medical history easily accessible), safety and security. Imagine yourself paying in supermarkets, logging into systems, going through passport control by the shove of your hand. Wouldn’t that be seriously convenient?

Privacy
We often say that we care a lot about our privacy but when it comes to convenience, people are usually agreeing to a lot of terms and giving up information within a mouse-click. Imagine having almost all of your information stored in a chip and the value that chip would have to large corporations for example. Add GPS (not in RFID chips though) to that chip, and basically ‘they’ could know where you are, what you do, when you do it and with whom. What terms would big companies have you (silently) agreed on in order to make certain things with that chip possible and so get all of that information? Privacy could get in serious jeopardy.

When human microchipping would become a thing, the question is: do we care as much about privacy as we care about convenience? Would you get chipped yourself if it would make your life easier in lots of ways?

I am curious to hear your opinion about this subject!

 

References:

Collins, T. 2017. Would YOU let your boss implant you with a microchip? Belgian firm offers to turn staff into cyborgs to replace ID cards. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4203148/Company-offers-RFID-microchip-implants-replace-ID-cards.html

Mack, E. 2017. Why The Company Putting ‘Chip’ Implants In Employees Isn’t Starting A Trend. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2017/07/25/microchips-implant-three-square-market-wisconsin-chip/#4ab09a95463a

Van Hooijdonk, R. 2017. Human Microchipping, The Benefits And Downsides. Retrieved from https://www.richardvanhooijdonk.com/en/the-benefits-and-downsides-human-microchipping/