## 3 The Impact of AI on UWC: The Technical Level
### Smart Metering  
Smart meters installed in every household allow for continuous measuring of water consumption. Through this technique, more accessible data are available to both consumers and companies, and this can impact the way people relate to the service while opening countless possibilities for influencing consumption behaviour. From the utility point of view, it can allow for reductions in peak demands, improved demand forecasting, promotion of efficient appliances, and performance indicators. On the consumer side, smart meters are considered useful as they provide information on how and where water is used to allow the reduction of consumption or quick leak detection.  
However, smart meters also present several concerns. The technology can be used to collect and commodity data on consumer behaviour, while the promised reduction in consumption is in part a result of disciplining consumers. Thus, [PERSON] [31] (p. 126) argues that \"[w]ater meters transform water users from passive consumers [...] into active customers entitled to value for money\". A more responsible consumer is 'nudged' to consume less water by emphasising the opportunity to save money. The financial value of water is used to urge households to 'take control' over their bill while altering the ways in which they use water. Penetrating the intimacy of the home, smart meters assist in the transformation of the household into a revenue stream and, at the same time, serve to control behaviours and shape practices \"associated with the political rule of finance\" [32].  
Critical literature has also shown that this continuous information about water consumption (combined with pricing mechanisms) may make citizens obsessed with reducing already low and essential water uses instead of focusing on other household expenses [33] (see also Section 5.1 on the gender dimension of this practice). Therefore, it could be argued that smart metering risks consolidating processes of commodification of the urban water supply, even for the most basic uses. At the same time, studies have shown that consumers from vulnerable groups are likely to need more help if they are to obtain the full benefits of smart metering [33].  
Moreover, like the sewer epidemiology case, the publication of data can become a problem; even if individual data are strictly preserved and only aggregated data of water consumption at certain territorial levels are made available (at building level, at street level, at district level, etc.), these data can be crossed with other databases such as, for example, TV channel scheduling. This data crossing can yield information about which channel a certain territorial area is predominantly watching, with associated consequencesfor the advertising policies among others (for instance because there is a direct association between increasing use of water when advertisements happen on TV in the evenings). In Europe, the GRPD is trying to prevent these situations via the informed consent of users, but additional care is required when we are talking about aggregated data which can be analysed in forms that can also have an impact at the individual level [30].