Investigation of Prospects and Challenges of Smart Cities in 21<sup>st</sup> Century

In 21<sup>st</sup> century the use of smart technology presents many distinct prospects along with significant challenges. Those prospects included transforming industries, agricultural and service sectors by improving daily life with sustainability. These technologies develop smart homes, smart cities by improving healthcare, transportation, connectivity, finance, business etc. with comfort, safety and security. On the other hand, it creates challenges in technological, economical, legal and ethical facet along with data privacy, security, and accountability. Today’s top-notch and cutting-edge technologies such as mobile phone, digital/quantum computers, camera surveillance, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Big Data, Digital Twin, etc. make radical changes on human culture, law, religion, work, etc., and that have greatly up-sated the normal order of things in the society. The use of these smart technologies in smart cities and business enterprises has been met with certain technological, economical, legal and ethical consequences. Smart cities in the 21<sup>st</sup> century utilize IoT, AI, ML, Big Data, Digital Twin, and data analytics to enhance sustainability, efficiency, and quality of life, with greater urbanization and climate challenges toward peaceful and smart living. Important prospects like intelligent traffic, smart grids, and citizen-centric services, though high implementation costs and cybersecurity risks remain significant challenges. This study will appraise the prospect and challenges along with ethical aspect of extensive and wide use of smart technology to develop smart cities. Beside many prospects there are some major challenges need to handle to a balance between technological innovation and the protection of individual rights and societal values. This is a research study on smart technology to evaluate the prospects and challenges of smart cities in 21<sup>st</sup> century.