AI strategist and tech humanist stresses importance of balancing AI innovation with privacy protection
As South Korea continues its ascent as a global leader in smart city innovation, the integration of AI and advanced technology into urban infrastructure is becoming indispensable.
In an exclusive interview at the Smart City Expo World Congress held at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain, Kate O'Neill, an AI strategist and tech humanist at KO Insights, shared her thoughts on how Korea’s smart cities can empower citizens while upholding ethical standards.
As South Korea continues its ascent as a global leader in smart city innovation, the integration of AI and advanced technology into urban infrastructure is becoming indispensable.
In an exclusive interview at the Smart City Expo World Congress held at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain, Kate O'Neill, an AI strategist and tech humanist at KO Insights, shared her thoughts on how Korea’s smart cities can empower citizens while upholding ethical standards.
Human-first design
O'Neill’s vision for Korea’s smart cities revolves around human-centered values and technological innovation. By focusing on usability, inclusivity and privacy, she said, Korea can create cities that not only integrate advanced technologies but also improve the quality of life for all citizens.
"The goal of smart cities should not just be automation and efficiency but creating urban environments where technology enhances human connections and individual freedoms," she said.
She emphasized that technology should support meaningful interactions in public spaces. Similar to cities like New York, she added, urban design in Korea should encourage social connections through parks and shared community areas -- especially important in a densely populated country.
O'Neill also said that smart city development must address basic human needs before moving to higher-level experiences.
“We must first ensure that the foundational needs are met before we can elevate the human experience,” she said. In practice, that means prioritizing housing, food and safety, and ensuring that technology actually improves daily life.
Technology for caregiving
Korea’s aging population is presenting significant challenges, but O'Neill sees it as an opportunity to design smart cities that foster intergenerational connectedness rather than isolation.
"Connectedness across generations seems like a real opportunity," she said. “Some really innovative and heartwarming applications that I think we've seen with technology have been those that have connected younger generations with older generations.”
She also pointed to AI-driven caregiving tools, which could help alleviate caregiving shortages. "Caregiver robots for aging populations are one area where AI could really make a difference," she said.
To ensure that older adults and marginalized groups are not excluded, she said usability must come first.
Services should be intuitive and accessible through widely used devices like smartphones. “The way around that is to really think about usability,” she said. “We need to be listening to voices from all segments of the population and hearing what people have to say about their specific needs.”
Guarding privacy
As Korea moves forward with smart city initiatives, O'Neill warned that the expansion of AI-enabled monitoring systems brings serious ethical concerns.
"Surveillance is an enormously troubling trend," she said, pointing to the growing collection of biometric and visual data linked to identity and movement.
“The data that we’ve provided in recent history has been more about social media patterns or purchase behavior, but now biometric information, surveillance and visual data are being tied to identity and movement.”
She noted that while safety matters, privacy protections must be firm. The rise of home assistant robots, municipal sensors and real-time monitoring will require clear oversight to ensure technology is deployed responsibly.
By centering privacy, usability and inclusion, she said, Korea has a chance to set a global example of smart cities that genuinely serve their people.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jie Ye-eun
Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: The Korea Herald, 08.11.2025
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