Atlas of AI

What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of original research, award-winning science and technology scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the energy and minerals needed to build and sustain its infrastructure, to the exploited workers behind "automated" services, to the data AI collects from us. She persuasively argues that this network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance. This book is an eye-opening story of how a few are making powerful infrastructures, at the expense of the many.

Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a planetary perspective on what it takes to make AI. The window of opportunity for change is rapidly closing and the stakes--for justice, due process, and democratic participation--could not be higher.

An urgent book that reveals how the extractive systems of artificial intelligence are remaking our world--with profound political consequences

What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of original research, award-winning science and technology scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the energy and minerals needed to build and sustain its infrastructure, to the exploited workers behind "automated" services, to the data AI collects from us. She persuasively argues that this network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance. This book is an eye-opening story of how a few are making powerful infrastructures, at the expense of the many.

Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a planetary perspective on what it takes to make AI. The window of opportunity for change is rapidly closing and the stakes--for justice, due process, and democratic participation--could not be higher.

This paradigm-shifting book will change the way you think about artificial intelligence. Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction that draws on natural resources, labor, and data--and how it is fueling a shift toward undemocratic systems. An urgent read about the powerful infrastructures remapping our world.

The hidden costs of artificial intelligence, from natural resources and labor to privacy and freedom

What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of research, award-winning science, and technology, scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the energy and minerals needed to build and sustain its infrastructure, to the exploited workers behind "automated" services, to the data AI collects from us. This book reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequality.

Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a material and political perspective on what it takes to make artificial intelligence and where it goes wrong. While technical systems present a veneer of objectivity, they are always systems of power. This is an urgent account of what is at stake as technology companies use artificial intelligence to reshape the world.

The hidden costs of artificial intelligence, from natural resources and labor to privacy, equality, and freedom

"Eloquent, clear and profound--this volume is a classic for our times. It draws our attention away from the bright shiny objects of the new colonialism through elucidating the social, material and political dimensions of Artificial Intelligence."--Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of California, Irvine

What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? In this book Kate Crawford reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased racial, gender, and economic inequality. Drawing on more than a decade of research, award-winning science, and technology, Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the energy and minerals needed to build and sustain its infrastructure, to the exploited workers behind "automated" services, to the data AI collects from us.

Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a political and a material perspective on what it takes to make artificial intelligence and where it goes wrong. While technical systems present a veneer of objectivity, they are always systems of power. This is an urgent account of what is at stake as technology companies use artificial intelligence to reshape the world.

The hidden costs of artificial intelligence, from natural resources and labor to privacy, equality, and freedom

"This study argues that artificial intelligence] is neither artificial nor particularly intelligent. . . . A fascinating history of the data on which machine-learning systems are trained."--New Yorker

"Eloquent, clear and profound--this volume is a classic for our times."--Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of California, Irvine

What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of research, award-winning scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the minerals drawn from the earth, to the labor pulled from low-wage information workers, to the data taken from every action and expression. This book reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequity. Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a material and political perspective on what it takes to make AI and how it centralizes power. This is an urgent account of what is at stake as technology companies use artificial intelligence to reshape the world.