Open access
MONITORING IN THE URBAN SPACE: TRANSPARENCY OF SPACE, LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IN NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Arkadiusz KOŁODZIEJ1, Krzysztof TOMANEK2
Publication language: English
Journal article
Transformations No. 4 (119) 2023,  Publication date: 29 December 2023
Keywords: public surveillance, artificial intelligence, smart cities, social control, civil liberties
Abstract The article at hand deals with the general topic of the monitoring of public spaces, with a focus on its role in the building and shaping of smart cities. Delving into academic research and discourse, we will discuss various studies as well as ongoing reflections and debates which center on monitoring understood as a social issue. We analyze both the positive and negative consequences associated with the registering, analysis, and usage of information drawn from visual monitoring. From an empirical perspective, we posit two principal questions regarding 1) general consent for the establishment of monitoring in various urban spaces, and 2) specific acceptance of monitoring depending upon the type of information gathered. In survey research (n=308) we asked adult Poles which of their personal data is more and which is less confidential, as well as what personal information can or cannot be collected. Taken further into consideration is the issue of automated interpretation of images using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. In our analysis of the survey results, we shed light on an opposition to monitoring that is concomitant with spiritual experiences or a closer connection to nature. The data analysis we conducted was augmented by contemporary computational methods that incorporate machine learning.
University of Szczecin, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0003-2302-5553
E-mail: arkadiusz.kolodziej@usz.edu.pl
Institute of Sociology, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland
ORCID: 0000-0003-1789-0006
E-mail: krzysztof.marcin.tomanek@gmail.com