On March 5, 2025, the Fudan Institute for Global Public Policy (IGPP) organized the 17th lecture of the Fudan-Arab Lecture Series. Assistant Professor Jess Reia of the University of Virginia delivered a lecture on the theme of Smart Cities and Digital Public Infrastructure in Brazil. Assistant Professor Yunxiong Li of IGPP chaired the lecture.

Jess Reia is an Assistant Professor of Data Science at the University of Virginia, a Visiting Scholar at Fudan University, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington, D.C. She previously served as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University and BMO Fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montreal in Canada.

Assistant Professor Reia began her lecture by highlighting its focus on the implementation of smart city projects in Brazil, as well as exploring their potential impact on social equity, digital rights, and the commercialization of public spaces. She also emphasized the challenges these projects present to social structures and resource distribution in the context of technological innovation.

Assistant Professor Reia then discussed the challenges posed by population distribution across various cities in Brazil, presenting smart city and digital public decision-making infrastructure projects as potential solutions. She outlined the processes for acquiring funding and the strategies for implementation, while analyzing the profound impact that funding models have on society and politics. She specifically highlighted how smart city projects are increasingly marked by the privatization of urban services and the widespread use of artificial intelligence, both of which pose significant challenges for government regulation.

Assistant Professor Reia further discussed the potential phenomenon of “smart-washing” in Brazil’s urban digital infrastructures. She explained that this could exacerbate inequality in the Global South and spark debates on geopolitical issues and digital sovereignty. She emphasized the need for policymakers and researchers to exercise caution when considering “smart-washing,” advocating for enhanced transparency in urban digital governance and offering valuable insights for countries in the Global South.

During the Q&A session, faculty and students actively posed questions and engaged in a wide-ranging discussion on topics such as privacy protection and data security in artificial intelligence. Assistant Professor Reia emphasized that these issues are universal, encouraging countries to collaborate more actively, strengthen communication, and work together to address these challenges effectively.

After the lecture, Assistant Professor Li presented a commemorative gift to Assistant Professor Reia. The event concluded with a group photo of the faculty and students.