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Anatomy of an AI System

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Anatomy of an AI System

The Amazon Echo As an Anatomical Map of Human Labor, Data and Planetary Resources

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5 min. de leitura
5 Ideias Fundamentais
Áudio & Texto

Sobre o que é?

Consumers are often unaware of the scale of resources involved in building and operating AI-powered gadgets.

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Professors Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler have created a map that visualizes the many processes that make the Amazon Echo work. In this essay, which accompanies their map, they take you on a fascinating journey outlining the global networks of raw material, human labor and data behind today’s popular gadgets. 

Summary

Operating AI-powered devices involves massive amounts of resources: raw material, human labor and data. Rare earth minerals, for example, are indispensable components of many electronic devices. Minable ore deposits of rare earth minerals are concentrated in only a few places, and their extraction is cumbersome and highly polluting. Yet these minerals, which took billions of years to form in the Earth’s crust, are used in devices with a lifespan of only a few years. The minerals then end up back underground in electronic waste dumps. The chains of production from mine to product are so complex that technology companies are hard-pressed...

About the Authors

Kate Crawford is a professor at New York University. Vladan Joler is a professor at the Academy of Arts at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia.


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