Column: Techsploitation
Acid rain is pouring from the digital cloud.Save a tree by taking notes on an iPad, buy a Tesla and stop funding the oil industry.
Increased usage of technology is often associated with eco-friendliness and enviro-wokeness. The internet itself, especially social media, has also been credited in part with the expansion and connectedness of today’s climate justice movement, and has indeed played an important role in rallying the public and gathering like-minded activists.
Especially crucial is how accessible information is made about deforestation, fossil fuel usage and climate change (and about the governments and corporations most responsible for this crisis).
Certainly, modern technologies' role in creating positive change are not to be understated.
The inner workings of the companies that create these devices and platforms are another story.
In fact, the realm of the digital is rife with its own share of environmental exploitation, as well as violations in human rights for the people whose labor allows this technology to exist.
Anatomy of an AI System is a visual map of the true costs of a single Amazon Echo, including the extensive environmental costs of the technology we use. One particular point of interest is the usage and subsequent depletion of rare metals in devices such as smartphones, digital assistants (Amazon Alexa and Google Home) and laptops.
