The Global AI Supply Chain and its Values
Date: 23.05.2025 09:30 - 10:30
Lecture / presentation
Format: hybrid
Location: Milano, Italy
Event Fee: Free
Organizer(s):
PHILTECH Research Center for the Philosophy of Technology University of Milan
Automated systems do not just impact an individual or population groups directly. Ana Valdivia calls for rethinking how we define algorithmic harms and the impact of AI by assessing the exploitative practices embedded within the supply chains that bring specific systems to life. This infrastructure includes the systems’ data centers, component mining and e-waste dumps to deposit cables, batteries, pipes or processors, for instance. In short, everything that has significant consequences for the territories and local communities affected by the production of such systems. In this vein, Valdivia spent three months in Mexico to understand how daily operations at ten data centers are depriving the rural community of Maconí of water in Querétaro, one of the most developed states. Her fieldwork revealed that Maconí people are forced to walk eight hours to get water for cooking and washing, while the local government signs agreements worth millions of dollars with hydraulic companies to secure water access for large investors like Amazon or Microsoft that plan to build even more data centers.
Post created by: Lymor Wolf Goldstein