When you hear the term “smart cities” do images of The Jetsons come rushing to mind? Following attending a forum on smart cities last week, MobileSyrup staff writer Jessica Vomiero will be the first to tell you, that’s not what the cities of Toronto, Kitchener, and Mississauga are aiming for in their individual smart city mandates. The CanCon crew asks what defines a smart city and what (if anything) we can expect to see implemented in the relatively near future.
2017 is shaping up to be a year in which many startups learn lessons about the importance of culture and the impact of social media. A potential candidate for hire at Winnipeg-based Skip The Dishes took to Twitter after receiving an email that indicated she would not be receiving a follow-up interview due to her inquiring about compensation – the tweet quickly went viral. The entire situation has the CanCon team wondering if is this just another internet pile-on after a one-time mistake or another toxic work culture behind the scenes at a (Canadian) tech startup.
Finally, after weeks of negative press, Uber is once again in the news. The New York Times wrote a piece outlining software being used by Uber to skirt the attempts of undercover police cracking down on the service in cities where they have not been approved to operate. These allegations are just most recent of a series of companies accused of using tech to evade the law, with other recent examples being Volkswagen and Zenefits. These stories have the CanCon crew asking, who holds the tech world accountable to ethical coding practices?
Tune in as CanCon’s podcast crew – Erin Bury, Managing Director of 88 Creative, Rob Kenedi – TWG’s Entrepreneur in Residence and host of the amazing #smallrooms podcast, Jessica Vomiero, MobileSyrup Staff Writer, and Douglas Soltys, BetaKit Editor in Chief – argue the ethics of coding and HR/PR oopsies.
Have some hot takes on the topics that were covered? Maybe you want to suggest something for a future podcast! Perhaps you have a burning question about something you read in tech news that we didn’t cover. Email us, post a comment below with the answer or question, or better yet, rate CanCon 5-stars on iTunes and post your thoughts there.
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CanCon Podcast Episode 59 (03/18/17)
How smart is your city?
How three cities are trying to become smart cities
City of Toronto launching Civic Innovation Office to procure tech solutions for city problems
Skip The Dishes does an oopsie
One time HR mistake or major culture problem?
Skip The Dishes responds
When did ethics become a greyball area?
How Uber Greyball program evades authorities
What do Uber, Volkswagen and Zenefits have in common? They all used hidden code to break the law.
Canadian Content music clip (under fair dealing): “No Cars Go” by Arcade Fire