This conversation between Shima Beigi and Science of the Noosphere’s David Sloan Wilson focuses on Shima’s book, Mindful Smart Cities: Rethinking Smart Cities with Mindfulness Engineering.

What does Shima mean by “rethinking smart cities with mindfulness engineering”? This description of her book states it thusly:

“The Artificial Intelligence fuelled transition toward smart cities and network societies has a tremendous impact on the future of humanity. The current narrative of smart cities and data enabled urban systems totally leaves out the components of human experience, feelings, emotions, and real human relationships. However, what makes a city smart is the degree and quality of human connections and social cohesion that individuals feel. Cities are more than just objects, buildings, and fixed entities. They are about people and networks that encompass system of life as a whole. In turn, people’s behaviour shapes sustainability, resilience, and inclusivity of the future of cities.”