Cultural and Media Policy Studies News and Events

Hubris in the Amazon: The Politics of AI Environmentalism - 22nd May 13:15-14:15 FAB 1.01

In recent years, an emergent form of environmentalism has positioned Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a crucial tool for addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. But what is this AI environmentalism all about? This talk explores two AI conservation projects in Colombia: a Microsoft-led initiative in the Amazon and a small-scale plant conservation experiment in the High Andes. Drawing on debates over hubris in STS and decolonial thought, three pillars of AI environmentalism are identified: partial actionability, retired acceleration and ambient participation. Ultimately, and despite their promises, such projects face significant limitations, as they struggle to—or do not even intend to—engage with the social and political complexities underpinning ecological harm.

Sebastián Lehuedé

Sebastián is a Lecturer in Ethics, AI and Society at the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. His research focuses on the governance of digital technologies from a global social justice perspective. His current project, AI’s Nature, explores the connection between Artificial Intelligence and environmental justice. In this work, he has engaged with urban, peasant and Indigenous communities in Latin America mobilising against a data centre project, resisting lithium extraction and participating in conservationist initiatives. Sebastián is a member of the International Panel on the Information Environment and regularly collaborates with digital rights, international organisations and other actors outside academia