Heat records are broken every year. In the hope that technology will from the climate crisis, millions are being invested in artificial intelligence technologies. At the same time the entire IT industry is already generating 900 megatonnes of CO2 per year. That is seven times the emissions of the whole of the Netherlands by 2023. To get out of the climate crisis, we need to repair our relationship with the earth. What does that mean for the design and use of technology?
In the project Designing Regenerative Technologies Waag Futurelab, together with Willem de Kooning Academy, Critical Infrastructure Lab, Greenhost and the Zoonomic Institute, investigates the relationship between technology and our planet. Using the Public Stack, we will analyse the ecological footprint of technology and explore how technology can become a functioning, sustainable part of the planet. What choices are currently being made in the development of technology? And what does technology look like when we base those choices on ecological impact?
Permacomputing
Together with artists, designers and researchers, Waag develops regenerative technology; a technology that is in balance with the planet. The project Designing Regenerative Technologies ties in with the goal of ‘permacomputing’. Permacomputing is a network and concept that opposes the dominant technological movement towards more pixels, bigger screens and more computing power by, among other things, committing to technology with a long lifespan, reducing energy consumption and (re)using existing devices and components.
