Infrastructures, artificial intelligence and other techno-solutions
Google and the platformization of the climate emergency
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/2965-6931.2023.47985Keywords:
platforming, artificial intelligence, climate emergency, Google, infrastructureAbstract
The main goal of this study is to discuss the increasing connection between infrastructural platforms and the ongoing climate crisis. We call the "platformization of climate emergency" the ways the computational, economic and ideological logics of Big Techs like Google affect contemporary socio-environmental challenges. Based on an exploratory study of Google Brazil's "sustainability" actions between 2020 and 2023, we problematize the dual - and paradoxical - role of infrastructure platforms: at the same time as they claim to be responsible for producing knowledge based on Artificial Intelligence aimed at mitigating climate challenges, they contribute to greater consumption of energy, water and other natural resources, especially through their data centers. In order to support this discussion, we draw on Platform and Infrastructure Studies, which take a critical approach to power disputes organized around materialities.
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References
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