[Air-L] 4S/EASST Open Panel - 'Data justice and climate resilience in emerging autonomous technologies'

[MC Forelle]

Hello AOIR,

I know there's a robust community of folks on this listserv working on
issues at the intersection of data-driven autonomous technologies,
policymaking, and climate justice. I hope some of you will consider
submitting your work to our panel, "Data justice and climate resilience in
emerging autonomous technologies"

*Abstract*

In an attempt to minimize the environmental impact of cars, governments
around the world are urging the automotive industry to shift fully toward
electric vehicles. While electric cars are often framed as the most
effective and achievable means of reducing the carbon emissions in global
transportation systems (Muncrief, 2021), they are, in fact, extremely
resource-intensive systems, and the extent of that resource draw is
understudied (Forelle, 2022). On the front end, these systems require the
mining and extraction of non-renewable resources to build semiconductors –
often in Global South countries that bear the burden of precarious labor,
pollution and local environmental impacts – while on the back end, the
integration of electrified and data-driven automotive features creates
burdens on repair ecosystems, making many EVs more difficult and costly to
repair (Savin, 2007). Moreover, the increased reliance on big data and
artificial intelligence (AI) has a hidden environmental impact,
particularly regarding electricity and water infrastructures (Hogan, 2015;
Crawford, 2021). These consequences of datafication remain unaddressed by
current data regulation paradigms and are further complicated by the fact
that these vehicles become black boxes that challenge privacy and data
protection regulation, creating additional governance issues for the
industry, governments and civil society.

This panel invites contributions that explore the concerns shared between
data governance and environmental resilience efforts posed by the move
toward electrification, connectivity, and automation in the automotive
industry and elsewhere. We seek to collect scholars who are critical of
these moves and who are working toward developing policy recommendations,
design practices, and pedagogical tools that can help connect policymakers,
engineers, and local communities in ensuring that emerging electric,
connected, and automated technologies truly achieve their stated goals of
sustainability and equity. We are open to work in multiple formats,
including proposals for traditional paper presentations, dialogue sessions,
and workshops.
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Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about our
vision for the panel!

Cheers,
MC Forelle
-- 
Assistant Professor
Engineering & Society
University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA
@mcforelle on the tweet and toots