Alphabet Subsidiary Could Build City from Scratch, CEO Hints

Googleā€™s parent company, Alphabet, has its fingers in many pies ā€“ but, in its mission to bring technological enhancements to urban areas, could it even build an entire city from scratch?

Dan Doctoroff, the CEO of Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs, has hinted that it indeed could, reports Business Insider. He was speaking earlier today at a New York summit where Jessica Lessin ā€“ the editor in chief of The Information, the summitā€™s host ā€“ publicly revealed that she had heard of consultants being hired by Sidewalk to look into building a city from the ground up.

Doctoroff responded that making a city in this way ā€œwould be a great ideaā€, though he cautioned that ā€œI canā€™t tell you anything.ā€ He was more forthcoming about the benefits, as he enthused that such a project could assist Sidewalk in rethinking social policy and data-driven management.

He said that a specially-built city could serve as ā€œa laboratory to experimentā€. However, he also tempered expectations, noting that ā€œcities are hardā€. He observed: ā€œYou have people with vested interest, politics, physical spaceā€¦ But the technology ultimately cannot be stopped.ā€

Tagged:
Newsroom
About the Author

News content on AppleMagazine.com is produced by our editorial team and complements more in-depth editorials which youā€™ll find as part of our weekly publication. AppleMagazine.com provides a comprehensive daily reading experience, offering a wide view of the consumer technology landscape to ensure you're always in the know. Check back every weekday for more. Editorial Team | Masthead ā€“ AppleMagazine Digital Publication