On Jan. 14, 2018, I attended a meeting organized by the N.Y. Civil Liberties Union), Nassau Chapter.
The purpose of the meeting was to present information about a new technology called the Smart Cities system.
The Smart Cities system is a wireless system connecting all the LED lights in an area to a central computer. With this system we can control the lights remotely, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The system also has the capability for add-ons, including audio and video surveillance. Along with the LED lights in the Village of Great Neck, our mayor has purchased (at an initial cost of $100,000), a Smart City system.
The NYCLU presenter, Daniel Schwarz, described many ethical and technological issues associated with these wireless systems.
Although the advertising hype emphasizes increases in efficiency, the hidden agenda of these systems is the collection of massive amounts of data about the daily lives and habits of the citizens.
Several important questions arise, such as: 1. how reliable is the system; 2. who owns the data; 3. where is it stored; 4. how safe is it from being hacked; 5. who will be allowed to access this data; 6. for what purposes will the data be used.
The Smart City system can be thought of as part of the “Internet of Things.”
This term refers to objects that have the ability to communicate information to the cloud, as well as to receive information from individuals.
Examples are remote-controlled thermostats, coffee makers, and vacuum cleaners. These devices seem innocuous, but in fact they are constantly transmitting information to the cloud, which is collected into large datasets and analyzed by various companies for their own reasons, with the expectation of reaping tremendous profits.
The NYCLU presentation was followed by Patti Wood, of the environmental group Grassroots (Port Washington), who informed the audience of the health hazards of both LED lights and the new generation of wireless communication (known as 5G).
Her presentation was met with much interest and concern by the audience — on the whole, the public is largely unaware of the health hazards of LED lights and of those of wireless systems.
We’re entering a new age as we speak, and for the most part, the public is stumbling in the dark, with no knowledge of what we’re facing.
These Smart City systems are being installed all around the country – this is not just Great Neck we’re talking about. We desperately need to understand more about what’s happening if we have any hope of controlling these technologies.
The good news is that information is available on the Internet, if you look beyond the advertising hype.
Look on the NYCLU site, and on the Grassroots site, for more information.
It is very important that we continue to voice our concerns to politicians at all levels. As with any other issue, the powers that be count on our apathy — they can proceed with whatever plans they want to, with no accountability at all!
Amy Glass, Ph.D.
Great Neck
