This week, we read about the thoughts on smart cities. With the rapid development of the internet, people have become more and more used to technology intervention in their lives. Although privacy is always concerned by internet users, the trend of letting all kinds of apps and websites gain our personal information has never stopped. The construction of a smart city cannot be divorced from the application of information technology.” According to what we read this week, the smart city operates in a way in which modern technology permeates every aspect of citizens’ lives. The operation of the city relies heavily on the calculation of big data. And as Shannon Mattern writes in her article, “Our current paradigm, the city as a computer, appeals because it frames the messiness of urban life as programmable and subject to rational order.” One of the most typical actions of building a computer-like is the health QR code we are using every day. As China stepped into the post-epidemic era, the control of the spread of the virus has become more and more restricted. The methods to gain information on citizens’ movements have become very systematic and complete. It is undeniable that the application of the “health QR code” effectively monitored the whereabouts of the citizens and thus enables the government to cope with the virus more timely. By this time, I believe most of the Chinese people have adapted to the ubiquitous “health QR code”, and would consciously show it before entering any public place, and cooperate with the efficient epidemic prevention measures brought by this technology.
However, as most citizens enjoy the safety brought by the “health QR code,” it may be hard for us to realize that this technology marginalizes certain groups of people. Although a huge impact always accompanies the arrival of new technologies on existing personal habits and cognitions, their impact on different age groups is extremely uneven: the young generation who have grown up in rapid development are often more willing and able to get started with new technologies faster, and then enjoy its convenience; while those older generations may need more time to get familiar with the new technology feel at a loss for the overwhelming, fast-changing technological products. A new report about how an old man was refused to take the bus because he didn’t have the cell phone to show his “health QR code” aroused public attention on the internet. People questioned the rationality of requiring a safe green “health QR code” to access all public facilities. However, similar cases are happening every day as the skillful application of modern technology and mobile phones’ possession becomes essential to make a living in an “intelligent” society. Not all people could afford a cell phone or could adapt to the new technology as quickly as others. Due to the lack of basic access to the complex online world, they are unable to express and speak at all, and they have become invisible in the modern technology-based society.
（volunteers helping old people to register the health QR code）
We may all imagine that living in a smart city means living in a more rational way in which everything runs orderly and efficiently. But there always remind question about who are the beneficiaries of the efficiency and convenience brought by the order. The construction of the smart city is based on the prioritization of certain standards such as degrees of familiarity with new technology and the ability to learn new skills. I believe we should be vigilant about such prioritization and always pay close attention to those people who might be eliminated in this process.
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