The “political dimension” of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities is now becoming increasingly apparent as city authorities and citizens are forced to wake up to the social changes that connected technology brings. That’s according to Léan Doody, associate director at consulting engineering firm Arup, speaking at the Internet of Things Business Summit 2016 last week. She suggested that the realities of the IoT are now moving slowly beyond mere local authority posturing to changes that affect society. “Government is now looking at smart cities to help with economic development of cities, how we can create jobs, attract technology hubs and companies, and make indigenous companies more successful. That’s a big part of what we can see from this”, Doody told delegates during her speech. A wave of international technology platforms and Web based companies are causing a stir in local business sectors, and their societies, in cities around the world. Local taxi […]