Commodity fetishism is a concept that illustrates how capitalist societies render invisible the materials, infrastructures, and producers behind commodities. This lack of awareness about the costs involved in producing a commodity is, as critical geographer David Harvey asserted, “cause for concern” (1990, p. 423). In the era of AI, where this technology has become economically and geopolitically relevant, this concern becomes even more persistent. Commodity fetishism obscures geographies and bodies behind the cost of the race in making this technology. This chapter defetishises AI commodities by revealing the hidden geographies and social relationships embedded in the production of AI. To do so, it proposes to examine AI commodity chains through the follow the thing method by tracing the journey of GPUs, from raw materials to e-waste. This approach contributes to discussions on AI commodities and its materiality by revealing the environmental impacts emerging at each stage of its commodity chains. Defetishising the materiality of AI entails bringing awareness of AI commodity chains, its costs, and its environmental impacts to expose how it is reproducing and perpetuating environmental conflicts worldwide.

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Follow the Thing: AI

  • Ana Valdivia

摘要

Commodity fetishism is a concept that illustrates how capitalist societies render invisible the materials, infrastructures, and producers behind commodities. This lack of awareness about the costs involved in producing a commodity is, as critical geographer David Harvey asserted, “cause for concern” (1990, p. 423). In the era of AI, where this technology has become economically and geopolitically relevant, this concern becomes even more persistent. Commodity fetishism obscures geographies and bodies behind the cost of the race in making this technology. This chapter defetishises AI commodities by revealing the hidden geographies and social relationships embedded in the production of AI. To do so, it proposes to examine AI commodity chains through the follow the thing method by tracing the journey of GPUs, from raw materials to e-waste. This approach contributes to discussions on AI commodities and its materiality by revealing the environmental impacts emerging at each stage of its commodity chains. Defetishising the materiality of AI entails bringing awareness of AI commodity chains, its costs, and its environmental impacts to expose how it is reproducing and perpetuating environmental conflicts worldwide.