Urban datafication: discourses and practices in data management in São Paulo
Datafication is the process of converting life streams into data streams through an artificial process to quantify and monetize human behavior (Van Dijck, 2014). The objective of this research is to understand the process of datafication in the City Hall of São Paulo (PMSP) based on the study of three dataficated socio technical devices associated with the Public Security Department (SMSP), namely: City Cameras, SP+Segura and CompStat Paulistano. The aim is, therefore, to answer how and with what motivations the PMSP is inserting itself in the urban datafication scenario. To meet this objective, a theoretical survey is carried out based on the perspective of neoliberal criticism, understanding how this economic and cultural model converges with the phenomena of data, smart cities and public administration, to then map and analyze the datafication processes associated with SMSP- SP. As a research hypothesis, the digital transformation in the public sphere serves private interests and increases municipal dependence on companies. In the case of datafication, ideological constructions support the discourses that justify incorporating tools based on data collection even when there are no proven benefits to society. To conduct this study, the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is used to map the sociotechnical networks mobilized in the phenomenon of datafication in the city of São Paulo. The methodological techniques used include interviews, document analysis, analysis of the city hall's media communication and data journey. From this, the objective is to understand which actors participate in this process, how the city hall's speech justifies datafication, explains the motivations behind these investments and how, in fact, such socio technical projects are operationalized.