The capitalist supply chain of Artificial Intelligence: Frictions, paradoxes and controversies of algorithmic materiality.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been woven into a supply chain of capital, resources, and human labor that has been neglected in discussions of the social impact of this technology. While the literature on critical AI studies has focused on algorithmic bias and opacity, the global production chain that fosters AI innovation has attracted little attention. Building on Tsing’s concept of supply chain capitalism, this presentation offers a tour of mines, semiconductor manufacturers, data centers, tech companies, data labeling factories, and e-waste dumps, illustrating the complex, diverse, opaque, and global structure of the AI supply chain.

Cycle of conferences on AI organized by Fiebre y Ensambles under the curatorship of Gonzalo Golpe.

Biography: Ana Valdivia is a Research Professor in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Governance and Policy at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). Ana researches how digitalisation and algorithmic systems are transforming the political, social and ecological world. With a background in mathematics and computer science, her research focuses on the impact of AI on local communities, borders and territories.
Her current work aims to examine the environmental impact of AI throughout its supply chain, from mineral extraction to chip manufacturing, data centres and e-waste dumps. She is also interested in analysing algorithmic resistance and oppression from a feminist perspective.

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