Unintended Consequences in Silicon Valley
Spring break is a stretch that affords some of us in Silicon Valley a moment to pause and reflect. Driving around during my downtime, I was caught off guard as an older, gray Chevy sped by with a digital billboard attached to its roof. The word “byte” in bright red jumped out at me, but it quickly flipped to another ad — after eight seconds, it turns out — this one with smaller, harder-to-read type.
I sped up to see what the sign said. I already was going fast, but the Chevy was faster. I caught up briefly but still couldn’t catch the words. Then suddenly, I swerved. Righting my car, I slowed down and watched the Chevy fly into the distance. I paused to reflect.
Arguably, I have one of the most beautiful commutes in the U.S. Two highways, the 101 and 280, connect San Francisco to Silicon Valley. Highway 101 is a mess — your typical bumper-to-bumper logjam. But 280, especially if you time it right, is a driver’s dream.
If you glance to the west toward the Santa Cruz Mountains, a wall of green drops down to Crystal Springs Reservoir, the Bay Area’s drinking water. The scene can include statuesque egrets, deer, and grazing cows. Sunsets are spectacular. Topping it off, of course, is the majestic fog that rolls in over the coastal range. I love that fog. When my kids were tweens, I’d wax poetic, telling them and their pals that one day when they were older, they’d drive this route, point out the romance of the fog, and get someone to fall in love. “Ew!” they’d say back then, but eventually, it happened.
Unlike many in Silicon Valley, I don’t need a meditation app. I can “change channels” between home and work. My drive to Stanford University fills me with anticipation in the morning and lets me chill on the way home.
But the billboard on the Chevy briefly changed that. It felt invasive, disruptive, annoying, jarring. It made me curious — and briefly furious in the same way those electronic billboards on ad-bearing barges in the Hudson and East rivers outrage some New Yorkers. What’s more, given the small type and speed of the cars, it seemed dangerous.
A couple of years ago, however, I thought the “billboard on a vehicle” idea was brilliant; in some locations, it still might be. You see, the other reason the billboard caught my eye was because a co-founder of the company that created it, Kaan Gunay, was one of our Stanford business students.
When Gunay explained his idea in a workshop a while back, I was gung ho. Digital smart screens connected to relevant, geo-located ads? Super! In my mind’s eye, I envisioned a digital topper on a yellow taxi in New York, a place already laden with digital marketing. I encouraged him to apply for an innovation grant funded by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, which I work for. He didn’t get the grant, but never mind; the company, Firefly, has since raised over $20 million in venture funding.
With all this on my mind, I rang him up. Indeed, the Chevy was one of his fleet. “Yes, we are running an ad campaign for that company,” Gunay said.
Firefly, which recently emerged from stealth mode, is at full throttle with 75 employees. The team is testing ad campaigns in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Its digital screens don’t just flack any advertisement but are connected to sensors that can track and geo-tag potholes and measure pollution. Uber and Lyft drivers enjoy a share of revenue created by the ads and operate the fleet. Ads can be “geo-fenced” so temptations for booze don’t appear as the vehicles drive by high schools. And a percentage of the ad inventory is dedicated to messages from nonprofits and public service organizations.
Still, I wondered about the unintended consequences of this new technology. Many in Silicon Valley are asking that question these days and pondering the unforeseen impact of the tech creations here. Stanford is developing new classes that explore this uncharted terrain. Just last month, the university launched an interdisciplinary Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence initiative (HAI) with a goal of anticipating both the positive and negative effects of A.I., the next tech wave expected to upend our lives.
As I described my reaction to the billboard, Gunay laughed. “I am assuming yours’ was abnormal behavior,” he said. “You were curious because you knew me.” Fair enough. On a more serious note, he added, “The last thing we want to do is distract drivers. Safety is our foremost concern.” Unlike wraparound advertising that’s otherwise making its way onto vehicles, no content appears on the front or back of cars bearing the Firefly ads. The ads face sideways and are aimed mainly at pedestrians and drivers stuck in traffic.
“What’s more,” Gunay said, “the company features useful content to neighborhoods” — because of the geo-targeting nature of its Fireflys — including “a diversity of smart city data along with great brands” that will drive the overall growth of the business. Once driverless cars become a reality, Firefly expects ad revenue will buoy the sector to make cities more livable and equitable.
Still, when it comes to unintended consequences, he said, “I’m sure there’s a good way to mitigate it… Maybe we don’t show moving content when the car goes over [a] certain speed?”
Classes have resumed at Stanford. I invited Gunay, who graduated with an MBA in 2018, to come back to campus to participate in an upcoming class designed to ponder the unintended consequences of technology. Give the students a challenge they can explore, I suggested. For example: How might we continue to experience life in the fast lane while ensuring Firefly’s digital screens serve as an asset to smarter city life and — like real fireflies — add to our sense of serenity?
Gunay’s response? He’s in.
Unintended Consequences in Silicon Valley
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