Lunch seminar: Ecofeminist Interventions in AI Systems

AI systems are central to today’s technological landscape. But behind these infrastructures lie political and social structures that shape how they function and who they benefit. These systems rely on the large-scale extraction of labour, resources, and data. The human work that sustains them, such as data labelling, content moderation, and data cleaning, is often outsourced, poorly compensated, and rendered invisible. At the same time, the environmental footprint of AI infrastructures, from the high energy demands of training large models to the mining of hardware materials, is significant and disproportionately impacts vulnerable regions. Yet both forms of extraction remain largely overlooked in mainstream AI research.

In this talk, we examine how power operates in the design and deployment of AI systems. We analyse how current practices prioritise speed, automation, and control, often reinforcing global inequalities and ecological harm. Drawing on research in data justice and ecofeminist studies, we argue that AI systems are shaped by social and political choices, not merely technical ones. As an alternative, we explore participatory design and community-centred approaches as strategies for redistributing power and building technologies that serve the common good.

The first 15 to arrive will get a vegetarian wrap and a soft drink!

Register to the lunch seminar