2030: how Blockchain, 5G and AI will shape tomorrow's cities

Last Tuesday I was invited to speak at the event “2030: how Blockchain, 5G and AI will shape tomorrow’s cities”, an event organized by Connectia and The Blockchain Management School (of which I am a former student of the First Edition), at the Talent Garden in Rome Ostiense.

Initially, I had to bring a fairly technical speech on the blockchain world, but then seeing the lineup of speakers I decided to change my speech, bringing a more colloquial chat (so no slides this time) about what makes a city ‘Smart’.

The speech

The lineup of speakers was monstrous: Massimo Chiriatti (CTO of IBM), Gian Luca Comandini (MISE Blockchain Task Force), William Nonnis (Full Stack Developer at the Ministry of Defense), Giorgio Sestili (Journalist), Raffaele Mauro (Endeavor Italy) just to name a few.

My speech was placed right after Massimo Chiriatti’s: speaking after a person of that depth and experience was difficult but also extremely stimulating. Massimo talked about the difference between prediction and forecast, about how technology (especially AI) must help man and not replace him, and about how necessary it is to ask the right questions to get the right answers.

This is the summary of my speech.

What is a Smart City?

It is often thought that a Smart City is a city full of sensors, cameras, things that happen automatically. This is partially true, but it is not the point. A Smart City is a city that uses technology to improve the quality of life of its citizens. And this can happen in many ways, not necessarily filling the city with sensors.

I often take the example of Estonia: a country that is truly digital. There, 99% of state services are online. You can vote online, open a company in 15 minutes, check your medical records… But if you walk through the streets of Tallinn, you don’t see robots or flying cars. You see a normal city. The difference is that citizens verify their identity with a digital ID card, have access to all services remotely, and trust the state because transparency is guaranteed by technology (often blockchain).

In Italy (and in many other places), we often confuse the means with the end. We engage in pharaonic projects of ‘Smart Lighting’ or ‘Smart Parking’ which then perhaps do not work or are useless, thinking that is the smart city. Instead, we should start from the citizen’s needs.

5G, AI and Blockchain: the enabling triad

Today we have three technologies that, together, can truly change things.

1. 5G: It’s not just “faster internet”. It’s zero latency and massive connection density. It means being able to connect millions of sensors per square kilometer without clogging the network. It means that a self-driving car can communicate with traffic lights and other cars in real time, avoiding accidents.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI): It is the brain. It collects the data coming from 5G sensors, analyzes it and makes decisions or suggests actions. It optimizes traffic, energy consumption, waste management.
3. Blockchain: It is the trust. In a world where everything is connected and managed by algorithms, how do we know that data is not manipulated? That my digital identity is safe? That the energy I produce and sell to the grid is counted correctly? Blockchain provides this layer of certificated and immutable trust.

The Problem of Privacy and Control

But there is a dark side. A city full of sensors and AI can easily become a Big Brother. China is an example of this with its Social Credit System. Cameras recognize faces, AI analyzes behavior, and the state gives a score to each citizen. If the score is low, you cannot take the plane or train. Is this the Smart City we want? I don’t think so.

Here Blockchain returns as a fundamental element. If we build the infrastructure on decentralized protocols, where the citizen owns their data and decides whom to give it to (perhaps in exchange for tokens or services), then we avoid centralized mass surveillance. We need Self-Sovereign Identity. I am the master of my identity, not Google, not Facebook, not the State.

Conclusions

2030 is close. The technologies are already here. The difference will not be made by technology itself, but by how we use it. It will be politics, ethics, culture that decide whether we will live in a digital techno-dictatorship or in a society where technology truly frees man from bureaucracy and inefficiency, leaving him more time for creativity and social relationships.

I am an optimist. I see great opportunities. But we must be vigilant and actively participate in the construction of this future. We cannot just undergo it.

Other interesting ideas from the event

William Nonnis brought a very pragmatic point of view: the Public Administration must digitize not to be “cool”, but to save money and provide better services. He cited examples of how blockchain can streamline procurement and reduce corruption.

Lorenzo Giustino (deputy) talked about the regulatory regulatory difficulties. The legislator is always chasing technology. We need agile laws that allow experimentation (Sandbox).

Raffaele Mauro broadened the horizon to the concept of Scale-up. It is not enough to create startups, we need to make them grow. And to make them grow we need an ecosystem that works, of which the Smart City is the substrate.

It was a beautiful evening, full of curious people and interesting questions. Thanks again to the organizers for the invite.

If you are interested in these topics, I suggest you follow the Blockchain Management School, which does an excellent job of dissemination and training.

Download the event photos

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