Smart Cities, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Respect for the European Union Data Protection Rules

Abstract The importance of cities and their populations grow more and more, as well as the need to apply ICT in their management to reduce their environmental impact and improve the services they offer to their citizens. Hence the concept of smart city arises, a transformation of urban spaces that the European Union is strongly promoting which is largely based on the use of data and its treatment using Big data and Artificial Intelligence techniques based in algorithms. For the development of smart cities it is basic, from a legal point of view, EU rules about open data and the reuse of data and the reconciliation of the massive processing of citizens’ data with the right to privacy, non-discrimination and protection of personal data. The use of Big data and AI needed for the development of smart city projects requires a particular respect to data protection regulations. In this sense, the research explores in depth the specific hazards of vulnerating this fundamental right in the framework of smart cities due to the use of Big Data and AI.