Collab: B.A. in Political Science. Franco Della Vella, Master's candidate in Electoral Studies (School of Politics and Government, UNSAM), Researcher at the Social and Political Observatory, Lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities (UNMDP) with a strong commitment to a better world.
Technological advancements revolutionize our daily lives: we use apps on our phones, tablets, and smart TVs, consume and produce content via streaming, store our information in the 'cloud,' and as a result, we are increasingly immersed in this digital ecosystem (even now, you are reading an online Loogbook). Technology has become indispensable, and its relationship with the environment and democracy cannot be ignored. The use of natural resources, such as water, by large technology companies, and the impact of technology on political regimes in cases like Brexit (2016) or the recent U.S. presidential elections (2020) are issues that must be considered if we aim to protect the planet and preserve democracy.
Currently, we are witnessing an increasing use of artificial intelligence in various areas, such as communication between large companies and their customers, personalized recommendations for consumers, and electoral processes. All of this would not be possible without a global infrastructure composed of massive data centers and millions of kilometers of cables, some of which even cross oceans and connect different parts of the world. This results in a large number of computers operating around the clock, whose energy consumption is steadily increasing.
To continue functioning properly and prevent overheating, these machines need to be cooled in some way. Ventilation systems, like those used for home computers, are very expensive and complex, making it more economical and simpler to cool processors with water. Without considering the water resources used in generating the electricity that powers the servers or in the hardware manufacturing processes, figures published by Google show that the company's water consumption increased by 20% in 2022, while Microsoft, which owns 75% of OpenAI (the creators of the well-known conversational bot ChatGPT), saw a 34% increase during the same period.
A report titled "The Environmental Footprint of Data Centers in the United States" from IOPscience, published by the U.S. academic journal of environmental research, details the carbon footprints and the amount of water used in large data centers in the country. According to this report, one-fifth of the direct water footprint of servers in U.S. data centers comes from watersheds with moderate to high water stress, while nearly half of the servers operate wholly or partially with power plants located in regions with water stress. This has raised concerns, debates, and major questions within their communities and surrounding areas.
This increase in the use of natural resources for technological operations is intrinsically linked to Contemporary Democracies. The exponential growth in the incorporation of technology in the functioning of political institutions within our democratic systems, as well as in the development of electoral campaigns, brings with it new phenomena that must be considered and analyzed with utmost caution. Some of these are:
The use of Big Data for micro-segmentation strategies in electoral campaigns
The use of misinformation or information manipulation mechanisms to influence people's political will (such as trolls, bots, or fake news)
Algorithmic communication in political parties through the automation of message production and dissemination
The extraterritoriality of networks due to the global nature of platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Telegram, etc.) which blur the boundaries of jurisdiction and complicate the enforcement of domestic laws by states against multinational companies and/or users who violate regulations from abroad.
The use of technology for disinformation campaigns and information manipulation, and the difficulty in regulating them, have profound effects on democracies. On one hand, they affect the integrity of public debate by generating distrust and delegitimizing actors and institutions. On the other hand, they also contribute to polarization; this cycle is self-reinforcing as polarized societies are more fertile ground for disinformation. Additionally, the automation of political communication lowers the level of debates and diminishes the authenticity of the relationship between representatives and constituents.
There is a broad consensus among experts that both environmental protection and the safeguarding of our democratic systems, as well as the design and implementation of measures to mitigate their impact, are issues of collective action and coordination involving multiple actors, such as political and electoral authorities, businesses, and families. The care of our natural resources and the use of technology for the advancement and improvement of our political systems is a task that concerns us all #ForABetterWorld.
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