Benjamin Gaulon guest speaker on "Digital and urban mines: approaches of Decolonial Making"
Benjamin Gaulon, Chair of Transdisciplinary New Media at PCA, has been invited to speak during the Research Day “Numériques et Mines Urbaines: approches par le faire décolonial*” . The event is part of the IRCAV-Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle Observatory with the “Digital Environmental Policies” Working Group of GDR 2091 CNRS “Internet, AI and Society”, and the FablabSU. This day will combine conferences, fablab visits and repair-creation demonstrations.
Digital technology – contrary to the mythology of the immaterial – does indeed have a considerable material footprint at all stages of its industry. According to the recent report “For a sustainable digital world” (2022) from the ecological transition agency (Ademe) and the regulatory authority (Arcep), 62.5 million tonnes of resources are used to manufacture and use IT hardware and 20 millions tons of waste are produced per year over the entire life cycle. This countless amount of waste pile up in landfills, legal or illegal, waiting to follow official or unofficial recycling routes, thus forming gigantic “urban mines”, reservoirs of resources already extracted and proliferating in the Anthropocene.
Extracting metals, storing and reprocessing electronic waste are all ecocidal activities polluting the air, soil, groundwater, and raising environmental justice conflicts around the world. The great acceleration of digital technology intensifies the scale and violence of these operations.
Guests include Laurence Allard, MCF (IRCAV-Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle), Clément Marquet (teacher and researcher, Center for Sociology of Innovation, Mines Paris – PSL, i3) and Sophie Quinton (CR Inria Grenoble), coordinator of the GT “Digital environmental policies” (GDR CNRS -2091 “Internet, AI and society”) and visit to the FablabSU by Christian Simon (MCF-HDR Chemistry, Sorbonne University-Co-founder of FablabSU), Yasmine Abbas (Assistant Teaching Professor, Immersive Environments Lab Director, The Pennsylvania State University, Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture), David Maenda Kikhoto (founder of the Génération Lumière association), Benjamin Gaulon (artist, teacher, cultural producer, Paris College of Arts, NØ SCHOOL NEVERS), Djafaar Amzal (Créalab, Vitry).
When | March 13th, 2024 | from 1.30 to 6pm
Where | FablabSU, 4 place Jussieu, Paris | Eslangon Building, Jussieu level
* “Digital and urban mines: approaches of Decolonial Making”. Please note that the event will be in French