Public infrastructure: All set for a smart city?

WITH the ubiquitous influence of artificial intelligence, our everyday life has entered the enchanted realm of hyper-connectivity. We live in a time of massive opportunity in the digital space, to lead better, easier and more connected lives.

The application of the Internet of Things (IoT) has become a mainstay of contemporary life. With the constant obsession over "smart"-everything, we seem to be on the precipice of a utopia of digitally-assisted living. The world has never revolved around our needs more than it has right here, right now.

In the developed world, the future is always released a season ahead. Anything that can be connected, will be connected.

However, in the emerging world, focusing on the IoT appears to be putting the cart before the horse. Digitalisation shouldn't be about things - it is about people. We need …