Smart cities and the power of patience

The thing is to have the ability to think differently, and to be open to new ideas and influences. Which is why the young embrace smart change. When it comes to the softer skill of being human, however...

It’s Thursday and I’ve still not completed my column. I’ve not even begun though the seed of the idea was planted in my head last Sunday with the launch of 100 new smart services in Dubai that are powered by artificial intelligence. I thought it was a smart idea when I mooted it to the editors of these pages but I’ve been pretty stupid like every week with its execution in print. Yes, in print, because we haven’t assigned robots for the newspapering process, yet (or should that be content creation?). We’re still a traditional and an emotional media outfit that cares for people — we do human interest stories — and I’m hoping it remains that way for a long time.

I read somewhere that routine ‘news gathering’ and ‘curation’ will be done by robots in the future. They will sift through data and great stories will simply pop up. Media mojo. But it works differently for me. I like to think on my own, and I can assure you that I’m not prompted by algorithms — though I check Google when in doubt (I don’t leave it out anymore) — which is acceptable I guess. I like the pressure of deadlines, the thrill of a Thursday morning. I force it upon myself week after week, day after day. The adrenalin rush keeps me going.

Now let me finish the column, which brings me to what I wanted to write about in the first place — smart cities like Dubai that are nimble and outsmart us with their ability to keep pace with technology.

It’s the way the city is programmed to think for the welfare of the people. I’m not speaking of EQ — the emotional quotient — that’s for us humans to judge. This is a data-driven, quickthinking, intelligent and artificial exercise that gets it right on the web and cloud. The system delivers every time, on time unlike yours truly. Let me explain this experience, the ease of doing business that is constantly transacting and changing the way we work and live using algorithms. It’s engaging, more so with leaders interacting on social media. Soon a nice rhythm is established, the process kicks in and takes hold which makes it easier to pay bills and get information.

What we have is a government that is mobile and transparent. People feel (and stay) at home while dealing with different departments, virtually — it’s multi-tasking made easy because time is of essence. In fact, we doesn’t have to be at home to complete your payments; we could be on the move — swinging past the smart gates flashing IDs at Dubai International. What’s fascinating is that we can be control of our financials and know what’s going on even when we are on vacation.

The UAE is at the forefront of this movement in the region that is revolutionising the way modern governments function — through smartphones and tablet. If people are uncomfortable using these devices, they can go to facilities that offer robotic services like the one that opened last week. In this new centre, robots will complete 100 government-related services which cover 14 departments — a onewindow clearance system with fewer humans and better outcomes. And it’s only beginning to spread. Rather, it’s thinning out with more AI and less people at the counters.

The latest development is that our medical tests can be completed in just 30 seconds. Very effective. It’s the new paradigm (I hate that word but can’t seem to get it out of my head when I’m in a rush to beat the deadline).

So when was the last time you visited your local Dubai Electricity and Water Authority office to pay your monthly bill? The last time I did that was way back in 2006.

I now pay my bills online. It’s green and paperless — but that’s not counting the kWh of electricity it takes to complete the process. Banking, utilities, transport, even fines (I’ve paid two in six years for traffic violations). The police or the traffic authority didn’t call me to tell me the bad news. It was via humanless SMS — efficiency is embedded in the system — I mean every word of it. There are no hard feelings and no need to plead or argue with a stern inspector.

A picture taken by the speed camera was sent to my email and voila, I paid for the infractions via the app. Saved me the trip to the police station like in the good old days. And there are the fuel cost savings and traffic congestion which are compounded by the pollution and rising carbon levels. I’m just glad I did my bit for the environment on two unforgettable occasions which cost me Dh1,200.

But are smart systems sacrosanct to hackers? I wasn’t sure, so I got in touch with my dependable friend Nicolai Solling, the CTO of cyber-security firm HelpAG, who put my fears at rest. “One issue that any smart government initiative anywhere in the world is struggling to deal with is establishment of the identity of the individual and the possibility of digital identity theft. One central ID for every resident is an area I believe, will be worked on in the future. We do have the Emirates ID, but this is not often extended to the smart services we utilise,” he says.

The UAE is a smart success because the leadership is ready to take the leap into doing stuff differently, but it is also doing so in a very systematic manner. The scale of the country helps as the scope of implementation is smaller than other nations. There are more young people who are unafraid to use the electronic capabilities of the government and this puts it at an advantage.

In conclusion, smart or not, I made the deadline, past the Thursday morning coffee spills. I must say I was wary of the section editors snitching to the editor. For me, smart’s not about speed, it’s about patience, which human systems have plenty of. That’s a virtue I won’t find in the electronic process.

This is data-driven, quickthinking, intelligent and artificial exercise that gets it right on the web and cloud. The system that delivers every time, on time, unlike yours truly