Consumptive blue water (a technical term) is the problem. Where does the water used by Iowa data centers go? "A good portion of the water used by data centers is evaporated during the cooling process, which can’t be reclaimed back into the water supply." who13.com/news/iowa-news…

Large Models of What? Mistaking Engineering Achievements for Human Linguistic Agency arxiv.org/abs/2407.08790 New paper with Marek McGann

Brazilian Ministry of Labour, DigiLabour and Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung announce a guide on Digital Solidarity Economy. This will be launched August 14 in Brasilia and will be used to train thousands of workers in the country. More soon! rosalux.org.br/livro-sobre-ec…

A must-read piece by @Nanvpm for anyone wondering about the role of language/translation in socio-environmental conflicts. Vital work!

Me alegra tener la oportunidad de hablar del papel de la traducción y la traducción automática (/IA) con @Nanvpm en Buenos Aires esta semana! Ofrecemos una perspectiva crítica del desarrollo y el extractivismo, y sugerimos oportunidades para la solidaridad interlingüística.

We need truly independent digital technologies that protect rights, serve public needs and strenghten democracy. Moving beyond surveillance and monopoly power. Read WIRED profile of Meredith Whittaker Signal and the need for a new kind of tech ecosystem. wired.com/story/meredith…

The tech industry is pushing for a massive build out of hyperscale data centers — regardless of the community impacts or social benefits. When we see what’s really driving it, it’s clear they must be stopped. I’ve put a lot of work into this series. Excited for you to hear it!

Translators and academics, this applies to you too!

Wish I could have been there in person, but still thrilled to be part of #GDA24. Many thanks to the organizers and participants!

Air Pollution and the Public Health Costs of AI Caltech AI’s deadly air pollution toll UC Riverside UN Environment Programme UCR Science News UCR Bourns College of Engineering University of California - caltech.edu caltech.edu/about/news/air…

Prof. Pierrette Bouillon and our Translation technology department had the great pleasure to welcome Prof. Matt Riemland today. Our students and colleagues could learn about "#Sustainability and #AI #translation: What #factors do we need to consider?" 🙏 Thank you! #ecological

The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium saying that Apple's supply chain is contaminated with "blood minerals". Their lawyers argue Apple is complicit in crimes committed by armed groups that control mines. bbc.in/4gBVaUo

🚨BREAKING🚨 We just released an 83-page report 'MIT Science for Genocide' on how the Israeli military sponsors war research on campus. ZERO degrees of separation to génocidaires. This is immoral, illegal, and unpopular. MIT ARMS EMBARGO NOW! archive.org/details/mit-sc…

Thrilled to share this interview with Cecilia Rikap more widely! It’s an important discussion of how the cloud giants cement and expand their power, particularly in the era of generative AI.

"Translation Work in the Digital Economy: Working Conditions of Translators on Platforms and in Cooperatives" 🗣️ Dr Gökhan Fırat. 💻 Online presentation and discussion. 🗓️ 12 Feb 2025. ⏰ 18:00 (CET, GMT+1) 💰 Free and open to everyone. 🔗 Registrations: tickettailor.com/events/transla…

Since 2010, Ireland has become a pollution sink/energy frontier for US tech via their data centres. Now, their privately owned subsea cables are being weaponised to ramp up Irish defence spending. Ireland - infrastructures for FDI, not public good. theguardian.com/world/2025/jan…

Not sure whether there’s any sentient, non-spambot lifeforms left on this garbage app, but you might be interested in this piece on AI language technologies’ environmental harms that I wrote for the Institute of Translation and Interpreting iti.org.uk/resource/the-e…

Doesn't get much attention but the EU energy efficiency directive obliges Ireland to reduce absolute energy demand by 2030 by 12.6% (vs 2022). Instead Govnt is doubling down on data centres, driving electricity + gas demand & calling it 'green growth'. thejournal.ie/data-centres-t…

🤖 Exploring the environmental impacts of #AI in #language services and the steps we can take as a profession to address them iti.org.uk/resource/the-e… by Matt Riemland

Imagine how much more effective Western labour unions would be if they coordinated actions with workers in the global South who are inserted into their supply chains and who provide so much of the labour that ends up in Western output.