That already technology is a major part of our lives. Its a utility we can use to make sure that we are economically feasible going into the future and that we are deficient in our use of energy and it enables our society to be far more productive than our 20th century Industrial Age so we are looking at the fact that so much of what already exists in society is connected and what are smart cities caucus does is it looks at four different areas of how communities are connected. One is connectivity and the other principal being sustainability and the other being mobility and then the workforce. How all of those components Work Together to make sure that in the 21st century our Civil Society is given the opportunity to reach its full potential utilizing the technological advantages that we have had in this age. Your first to it as a utility and do you see it as a utility like plumbing or electricity and streets . Guest it is something we use but its more an infrastructure. I think for many we look at particularly communities that are already wired. Broadband had been deployed, ways in which we can maximize on that infrastructure to again help build a better quality of life for our citizens. When we talk about smart cities caucus i always say more communities because this could be applied in the urban and oral areas provided that we have the appropriate infrastructure buildout in those areas spirit do see congress have enrolled when it comes to funding . Guest i think we do. I think that we can incentivize a partnership with the private sector many of which already have a lot of that infrastructure built out into parts of the country but there are gaps. In order for us to be fully integrated and fully utilized and maximized technology in all of its permutations it is important that we partner in incentivize private sector engagement. Host before we introduced our guest reporter one final question. What about your district in brooklyn . Do you consider it a smart city . Guest absolutely. We are at the very beginning of building out a smart city. We were fortunate very early on to convert our old telephone booth infrastructure into wifi kiosks. They are strategically located across the city of new york and that in and of itself provides a means of communicating that is a predicate for what can be done for Sensor Technology and how we can regulate how our lighting and there is so much that can be done just from that platform alone. We are looking at how we can integrate into the use of that Energy Source that will be sustainable so there have been some entrepreneurs who have talked about how we can connect solar to the uses of those kiosks as well and it really has been a footprint in the city of new york that gives us, i believe, a great edge in terms of fully integrating all of our needs into a smart city. Host joining us at the table is phil markham a cybersecurity reporter for the washington post. Guest are we in a smart cities competition with china and how are we doing . Guest i dont know. I think we are in a competition with ourselves and think that china has done far more investment and of course they are state sponsors so its easier when youve got one guy making all the decisions. Here we have 50 states and we still have a lot of work to be done in terms of National Infrastructure and to a certain extent i believe we are behind in terms of the build out. Do we have that knowhow and the ability . Yes, we do but do we have the technology and the ability to roll it out . Yes, we do but what we have to get is the will to do so. There have been a lot of stories about cities not being capable of protecting the data they already have with attacks in baltimore and atlanta so we should be concerned about cities gathering orders of magnitude more data about citizens . Guest we have to build up capacity because any vulnerable link in the United States is in an attack on all of us. Notwithstanding the fact that there are certain parts of the country that have far more of a robust cybersecurity protocol and any weak link creates a portal through which anyone can invade whether its the pentagon or your local municipality. Should congress be doing something to ensure that these are built out . Guest absolutely. We talked about cyber hygiene and the fact we not be retrofitting but that we should have those security baked into the technology and if so we have to continue to push for that and continue to be vigilant around that because you will say this is what we want to accomplish and then someone is looking for a short cut. If that shortcut that creates a vulnerability that makes us all vulnerable in the end. Host just to followup on what joe asked you a minute ago about this information and its potential for getting loose. Should cities have that information about guest they will have to break that is the only way to address local concern. We should be mature enough and at this stage in our development in the Technology Space to be able to protect people information and to be able to have the proper protocols in place to make sure that we are monitoring and making sure that no nefarious uses of personal data is happening in our city or foundation. We are not there yet. No doubt about it but we will need the assistance of a Cybersecurity Workforce and again thats part of the smart cities goal is to establish a workforce that is committed and focused and welltrained and constantly learning what it is to protect person personal data, and for structure and needed to make sure that as we build the 21st century infrastructure we have the workforce commensurate with that. Do think congress has commensurate with it because obviously there have been some hearings . Zuckerberg in the past where people have questioned whether congress has the Technology Cybersecurity savvy to legislate in this area and now we are inviting companies who are in charge of smart cities to collect lots more data about citizens and can we ensure that is being done responsively . Guest i think we have an obligation to do so for we are not a monolithic in the legislator at all and we have large bandwidth with younger folks that have lived their lives through every use of technology to some of the more seasoned members with flip phones and we will not rely on the flip phones to be able to keep those protocols but we can and do have capabilities through other members who have studied this and any who are fluent in privacy issues and cybersecurity issues and number of members who were in the cia and fbi and we have access to the information we need and to the technicians that can help us to craft what is important. We have two create the protocols the girl with the rapid growth in Technology Protocol and so i think we are capable of doing it and we just have to have the will and the bipartisanship behind it. Smart cities have an implement did in china theres often a hazy line between the use of the data Public Safety and for surveillance. I know especially with facial recognition and policing youve been expressed concern about the way facial recognition is used in the United States in Public Housing and of the border so how do ensure you get the good stuff from these connections and not the bad stuff . Guest its all about how you regulate and legislate things and how you create policies that are in keeping with the values of your society. Law enforcement, i think, has a unique role in terms of the utilization but it can be used for good or bad and the hope is as we are becoming more enamored with the use of technology that those who would use it for bad would spend out as outliers but the practice is these are how we will use this technology and under these circumstances so a child is kidnapped. Now you can get footage that shoots from one location to the next location to the next location far quicker than the Human Capacity to send that information along. On the other hand you dont want to have a situation where your babysitting a child and the information that could have come to a Police Officer doesnt and they dont recognize you and you unfortunately and up with an incident that takes someones life. Its how we use technology in a smart way and how we set the protocols and how we train the workforce to use it. Is there a concern that technology is developing too fast for the lawmakers and regulators to keep up with the indications. Guest i think again its who the regulators are and who the legislators are. There are so many folks who have already delved into this space and are very apprised of what and how that technology is evolving and being used and how to put guardrails around it. We need access and we need to move them to the force that expertise is something that is treasured that we maximize on. Presented in court, do you hear from people or do you have a fear of the socalled big brother syndrome . Guest i dont. I dont have a fear of it but i feel its important however that we set up guardrails and that we recognize privacy as a very important part of this conversation around the use of technology and that we acknowledge it in the same way folks in the eu have. They set up protocols around managing data and weve yet to make that step here in the United States for what i consider our nation to be the weakest link because we have it and those conversations we are already having on the health because its very important that we not make use personal data but that the wellbeing of Civil Society is at the core of what we are trying to a girlish. Impeachment inquiry, electionyear coming is they are the political will to pass cybersecurity or privacy legislation . Guest i hope there is but we have to do our job but the house of representatives had passed over 252 pieces of legislation already in this congress and theyve gone over to the senate and they are languishing there. I think we can do all of this at one time in the legislator is built that way so we have members and various pieces of legislation but we can maximize our time but we made willing partners in the legislative body only works with both chambers to work. Unfortunately that is not the case right now. One of the biggest pieces of cybersecurity legislation that members have tried to get through is mandates on Election Security including funding that is largely been in the senate and later mcconnell there has said or 259 toward Election Security but with no mandates behind it and is that sufficient to protect 2020 . Guest not from the information we have gathered thus far about how their vulnerabilities and challenges you have 50 different on different election systems because its governed at the state level. We have to do far more than say we will allocate funding without restricting and without targeting its use for securing our election systems at the state level. We have to look at what each state has accomplished and what is important and we cant even agree at this stage that everyone should have a paper trail. When you are at that stage we cant even agree that we should have a written record or printed record of even voting that weve got a long way to go. One thing he focused on in terms of Election Security is deep thanks. How concerned are you that this could be an issue in the 2020 election . These videos that look lifelike but are doctored. Guest i think its a threat to the Society Overall because deep fakes are deeply fake. The naked eye you cant really tell the difference. We know that in the last election there was a lot of meddling in social media. Imagine if the words that were put out to dissuade people from voting came with a video depiction of it and it showed someone that is highly revered taking a false statement or taking an action they did not actually take. It has applications beyond just beyond just a fictional depiction of something going on and it can psychologically create a real problem for americans and its important that there is a disclaimer that indicates to individuals that this has been tampered with or this has been altered and been modified and is for your entertainment and if there should be a watermark so that people can distinguish between what is real and what is not. Deep fakes can also be weapon eyes. Its the Biggest Issue has been inserted the revenge porn his face. This has happened regularly with basically creating in peoples lives havoc and has ruined peoples reputation and where to go to repair a reputation . I think its important that we pass legislation and that is getting a head of things. Right now it is not widely distributed in the context of the socially acceptable social media and its basically relegated to the margins right now and the dark web but at some point it will become a very prevalent and its important that the iraqi people know that these are deceptive uses of audio and technology. Host is your deep fake cybersecurity act have support . Guest it does. Im hoping that we can move it because i think when you are talking about elections and trying to create a election that has integrity once you move into these video depictions that are deceptive we are now in a totally different space and trying to get back to a place where we understand truth as truth and it becomes even more of a challenge for us. Host congresswoman clark you are also vice chair of the energy and Commerce Committees what is your take on Silicon Valley in social Media Company . Guest i think that so we dont want to grossly generalized but i would say we have to build a much more healthier relationship with the American People and i think that many have been driven by being preeminent in their space and with that preeminence comes a certain level of arrogance and abuse and that is not in the best interest of the emergent people and i find that many of these firms are not reflective of the diversity of people of our country and we talk about developing algorithms and a whole host of other things if you are only coming from one perspective you are breaking into the system this termination that will be very hard to unpack once its baked into the system. You talked about finding the right advisors to help move toward a more connected bigger data feature and are there particular people or groups in and around the Tech Community who you look to advise you on that . Guest everything from Energy Sectors to the tech sectors these are to the Banking Sector these are industries that have had out of necessity to protect their infrastructure whether its banking or our oil and gas or electricity grade and there we will find a lot of folk. Both of in the Tech Industry and they are building it so as they build it we should be having some level of discourse so that we understand what the implications are of what is being built and how it is being deployed and what it means for Civil Society and in academia there are a lot of young folks who are looking at the Defense Industry and looking at helping out country and these are folks that have the wherewithal to advise and provide us with the level of intricacies we need to not only look at what we have before us right now but where we go in the future. One thing often paired is 5g wireless and what are the magnitudes faster than the current Wireless Infrastructure so are you concerned about the security of Privacy Network and is the Trump Administration doing enough to keep. [gunshots] companies out . No we are not doing enough to keep huawei out of our networks but i believe that we have what it takes to be able to do so. It is interesting because ive even heard some of the folks in that utility space, electric sector, talking about 10g. We are at 5g now but there is already a discussions about 10g. Dont let i have no idea and maybe you blinked and averaging disappeared but i just dont know where we are going with that but it is important if we will build out a smart city that 5g is a utility we need to be able to access and maximize on. Problem is we have not fully deployed broadband yet. The Digital Divide is always a concern and an issue whether its Rural Communities or what we call digital deserts in urban communities and the one thing we dont want to do is beat any quality exacerbated because we are unable to figure out or cracked the code around how we make it 5g and broadband ubiquitous in the United States and that is one of the things we are looking at through the smart city, Smart Community caucus. Host we ask this of every member of congress that comes on this program would you own a. [gunshots] program yourself . Guest i would not. Im concerned about our lack of negotiation and our lack of intelligence and the fact that we know that competition breeds contempt. With these nations who are clearly looking to eat our lunch i am concerned and there has been some reporting of real concern with huawei and the use of technology but they are not the only ones so i dont want to stigmatize our way huawei who like their devices but i personally listen, people are talking about alexa and amazon and the fact that a lot of that technology is money you think it is sleeping its actually recording but theres a lot we have to unpacked with within our homes and communities and our Civil Society and how we secure it in a way which our privacy and personal information comes first. You think congress is prepared to do that given all the civil difficulties guest listen. I think there are enough folks with the wherewithal to do it. Whether we are at that point right now i dont believe so i think there is a lot more we can learn and must l