Living Laboratory - we are all test guinea pigs

It seems the world has gone mad for testing out dystopian ideas on large numbers of people.

The following video presentation is for a future city project in Japan, where everything is fully automated. A friend of mine has been offered a job there as an automation programmer. So this is the real thing.

What is interesting is how the presenter calls it a living laboratory where safety tests will be conducted. In other words, people will live and work in an environment as test guinea pigs amongst untested fully automated systems. Dream or nightmare?

"I'm sorry Dave, but in accordance with sub-routine C1 532/4, quote, 'When the crew are dead or incapacitated, the computer must assume control', unquote. I must, therefore, override your authority now since you are not in any condition to intelligently exercise it."

• Hal 9000.

If this already sounds like the plot from a bad sci-fi film, the location of the planned automated city is at the foot of a live volcano. What could possibly go wrong?