← Political Instability
E-Waste
AI, particularly generative AI, accelerates the material obsolescence of computing equipment and generates electronic waste that is difficult to recycle. The outsourcing of its management exacerbates environmental inequalities and exposes populations—especially in the Global South—to health risks.
Bibliography
- Wang, P., Zhang, LY., Tzachor, A. et al. E-waste challenges of generative artificial intelligence. Nat Comput Sci 4, 818–823 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43588-024-00712-6
- Crawford K (2021) Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Valdivia, A. (s. d.). The supply chain capitalism of AI : A call to (re)think algorithmic harms and resistance through environmental lens. Information, Communication & Society, 0(0), 1‑17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2420021
Techno-Optimism →