Amsterdam 2040

This chapter, set in Amsterdam in 2040, illustrates what an urban environment may look like in the future based on current technological advancements and forecasts. In fact, as things get smarter and autonomous, they move from being mere tools to becoming agents with performative capabilities. The city becomes even more an assemblage of agents, both human and nonhuman, ideally performing together for a shared goal: the community welfare. The scenery, the diegetic prototypes, and the accompanying story were crafted by mapping forecasts, reviewing relevant academic literature and popular news, and envisioning situations in which intelligence and autonomy of urban things may be controversial. Design fiction is used as a way to set the stage for discussion and identifying relevant questions and controversies that may arise from the coexistence of humans and intelligent and autonomous things in near-future cities.