The Digital Revolution in the Urban Water Cycle and Its Ethical–Political Implications: A Critical Perspective

Abstract

The development and application of new forms of automation and monitoring, data mining, and the use of AI data sources and knowledge management tools in the water sector has been compared to a ‘digital revolution’. The state-of-the-art literature has analysed this transformation from predominantly technical and positive perspectives, emphasising the benefits of digitalisation in the water sector. Meanwhile, there is a conspicuous lack of critical literature on this topic. To bridge this gap, the paper advances a critical overview of the state-of-the art scholarship on water digitalisation, looking at the sociopolitical and ethical concerns these technologies generate. We did this by analysing relevant AI applications at each of the three levels of the UWC: technical, operational, and sociopolitical. By drawing on the precepts of urban political ecology, we propose a hydrosocial approach to the so-called ‘digital water ‘, which aims to overcome the one-sidedness of the technocratic and/or positive approaches to this issue. Thus, the contribution of this article is a new theoretical framework which can be operationalised in order to analyse the ethical–political implications of the deployment of AI in urban water management. From the overview of opportunities and concerns presented in this paper, it emerges that a hydrosocial approach to digital water management is timely and necessary. The proposed framework envisions AI as a force in the service of the human right to water, the implementation of which needs to be (1) critical, in that it takes into consideration gender, race, class, and other sources of discrimination and orients algorithms according to key principles and values; (2) democratic and participatory, i.e., it combines a concern for efficiency with sensitivity to issues of fairness or justice; and (3) interdisciplinary, meaning that it integrates social sciences and natural sciences from the outset in all applications.

Collaborative research for transitioning to Climate-Neutral Cities – contouring a prospective framework for integrated planning

“…As we exemplified, GIS and other digital technologies can be used to tap into open data availability and processing for green mobility or energy-inclusive decision-making. Developing a critical lens to assess the systemic impact of AI tools and Digital Twins in digital climate scenarios and city building is needed, to understand the tradeoffs between efficiency and personal autonomy in digital solutions (Popartan et al, 2022) and avoid the negative effects (increased surveillance, lack of accountability, workforce exclusion, discrimination, injustice, or impaired democratic quality). The importance of local socialtechnological-ecological systems has become more widely recognised (Kaae et al, 2019), but besides bringing the 'human in the (technological) loop', proactively testing technologies in practical implementations and assessing the social acceptance of derived solutions and policies are necessary.…”

“…The use of technologies at the city level is therefore restricted to those who can afford the software, training, or outsourcing costs. Nevertheless, in advanced economies, these technological and digital climate solutions are overwhelmingly perceived as positive, but little systematic research on the unwanted consequences or socio-political and ethical concerns they may generate has been conducted (Popartan et al, 2022). Bias and assumptions can be in-built into urban governance simulations and applications, and not the least, the use of such tools can pose dangers of increased surveillance.…”