Abstract
The 'twin transition' has become the latest buzzword in European policy discourse. Embedded in the ambitious framework of the European Green Deal, it proposes a synergistic relationship between the green and digital transitions, presenting a scenario in which the two are mutually reinforcing and form the cornerstone of a sustainable, fair and competitive future. Emphasising the importance of maintaining competitiveness and sustaining economic growth, data is heralded as 'the new oil of the digital economy'.
While we encounter diverse forms of digital solutionism as a response to many of our contemporary problems, the environmental impact of the digital transition gets little to no attention. This environmental impact comes through the impressive expanision of new forms of extractive data industries, the growing demand for raw materials and the rising amount of digital waste, which all pose considerable challenges to the promise of environmental sustainability. My presentation will draw on research conducted as part of my ERC Advanced Grant "Innovation Residues - Modes and Infrastructures of Caring for our longue-durée environmental futures". Specifically, I will not only scrutinise the valuation practices and justifications which are visible in the twin transition narratives produced in the ample documentation produced by the European Commission, but also elaborate on the often tacit temporalities which govern both valuations and justifications.
About Ulrike Felt
Ulrike Felt is Professor of Science and Technology Studies, and Head of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Vienna. Read more about her here.
Seminar at TIK
On May 28 Ulrike Felt will visit TIK for another seminar: "Thinking Innovation in Reverse - Broadening the notion of responsible innovation" and present her work on the left-behinds of innovation activities such as nuclear waste, microplastcis and data/digital waste, and invites us to think about responsible innovation from the perspective of the residues and our capacities to care for them.