Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 4 hrs ago
Study urges cities to weigh public values when adopting new technology
A research team studied how cities can weigh public values against new technology by looking at two cases in the United States.
In Portland, Oregon, residents and local leaders raised concerns about facial recognition, including privacy and possible racial and gender bias.
The city council unanimously banned facial recognition in 2020 in city agencies and businesses open to the public.
In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey’s 2015 order allowed companies to test self-driving cars on public roads, with a focus on jobs and economic growth.
In 2018, an Uber test car struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg near Phoenix, highlighting the safety risks of self-driving cars.
The researchers’ public value mapping method compares effects on the public and on companies, while recording uncertainty, to help cities judge technology against residents’ stated goals.
Researchers say cities should assess new technology against residents’ stated priorities, not only its technical risks and benefits.
Their study uses public value mapping to compare outcomes for the public with outcomes for companies selling the technology.
The researchers examined facial recognition in Portland, Oregon, and self-driving cars around Phoenix, Arizona.
Portland banned facial recognition in 2020 after public meetings, prioritising privacy, while Arizona allowed companies to test self-driving cars on public roads.
- Who
- Researchers led by Thaddeus Miller of the University of Massachusetts Amherst examined how cities can assess emerging technologies.
- What
- The study proposes public value mapping to weigh technology decisions against residents’ stated priorities.
- When
- The article was published on October 17, 2026. Portland’s ban took effect in 2020.
- Where
- The cases were facial recognition in Portland, Oregon, and self-driving cars around Phoenix, Arizona.
- Why
- The researchers argue that cities should judge technology by how well it serves public values as well as by its effects on companies.
Portland officials and privacy advocates
Business groups
Scope of facial recognition ban
Portland officials and privacy advocates
Portland’s 2020 ban covered city agencies and private businesses in places open to the public.
Business groups
Business groups later argued that the ban went too far.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed an order allowing companies to test self-driving cars on public roads.
Portland established its Smart City PDX office to guide the city’s use of data and technology.
Federal testing found some facial recognition systems produced false positive matches for African American and Asian faces at rates up to 100 times higher than for white faces.
A Black man in Detroit became the first known person wrongly arrested after a facial recognition match.
Portland’s council unanimously approved a ban on facial recognition use by city agencies and private businesses in public places.
Portland began requiring privacy reviews before using or buying surveillance technology.
- Study senior author
- Thaddeus Miller, UMass Amherst School of Public Policy
- Portland ban
- Approved unanimously in September 2020
- Arizona order
- Signed in 2015 by Governor Doug Ducey
- Facial recognition testing
- Some systems had false positive rates for African American and Asian faces up to 100 times those for white faces
- Portland surveillance reviews
- Began in 2023
What people are saying
These technologies, like facial recognition and Flock, were emerging in baby steps then, and the pace has only ramped up
We must protect the privacy of Portland’s residents and visitors, first and foremost