4S/EASST Open Panel - 'Data justice and climate resilience in emerging autonomous technologies'
Hello AOIR, I know there's a robust community of folks on this listserv working on issues at the intersection of data-driven autonomous technologies, policymaking, and climate justice. I hope some of you will consider submitting your work to our panel, "Data justice and climate resilience in emerging autonomous technologies" *Abstract* In an attempt to minimize the environmental impact of cars, governments around the world are urging the automotive industry to shift fully toward electric vehicles. While electric cars are often framed as the most effective and achievable means of reducing the carbon emissions in global transportation systems (Muncrief, 2021), they are, in fact, extremely resource-intensive systems, and the extent of that resource draw is understudied (Forelle, 2022). On the front end, these systems require the mining and extraction of non-renewable resources to build semiconductors – often in Global South countries that bear the burden of precarious labor, pollution and local environmental impacts – while on the back end, the integration of electrified and data-driven automotive features creates burdens on repair ecosystems, making many EVs more difficult and costly to repair (Savin, 2007). Moreover, the increased reliance on big data and artificial intelligence (AI) has a hidden environmental impact, particularly regarding electricity and water infrastructures (Hogan, 2015; Crawford, 2021). These consequences of datafication remain unaddressed by current data regulation paradigms and are further complicated by the fact that these vehicles become black boxes that challenge privacy and data protection regulation, creating additional governance issues for the industry, governments and civil society. This panel invites contributions that explore the concerns shared between data governance and environmental resilience efforts posed by the move toward electrification, connectivity, and automation in the automotive industry and elsewhere. We seek to collect scholars who are critical of these moves and who are working toward developing policy recommendations, design practices, and pedagogical tools that can help connect policymakers, engineers, and local communities in ensuring that emerging electric, connected, and automated technologies truly achieve their stated goals of sustainability and equity. We are open to work in multiple formats, including proposals for traditional paper presentations, dialogue sessions, and workshops. ---- Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about our vision for the panel! Cheers, MC Forelle -- Assistant Professor Engineering & Society University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA @mcforelle on the tweet and toots
participants (1)
-
MC Forelle