From Alphaville to Robocop, science fiction has the measure of smart cities, says Tim Maughan. In a recent article on the continuing civil unrest in Turkey, sociologist Zeynep Tufekci argues that the science fiction metaphors the media so frequently turn to are outdated. “Nineteen Eighty-Four had finally arrived, it was said - just off by 30 years or so. But this is the wrong way to understand what’s happening,” she argues. “Deep and pervasive surveillance is real. It is likely worse ...
