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Anatomy of an AI System
Article

Anatomy of an AI System

The Amazon Echo As an Anatomical Map of Human Labor, Data and Planetary Resources

Share Lab, 2018

автоматическое преобразование текста в аудио
автоматическое преобразование текста в аудио

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Professors Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler have created a map that visualizes the many processes that make the Amazon Echo work. In this essay, which accompanies their map, they take you on a fascinating journey outlining the global networks of raw material, human labor and data behind today’s popular gadgets. 

Take-Aways

  • Building and operating AI systems requires massive amounts of resources in the form of raw material, human labor and data.
  • Rare earth minerals – indispensable components of electronic devices – took billions of years to form and are cumbersome to extract, yet end up in electronic waste dumps only a few years after being processed. 
  • The chain of production for electronic devices involves thousands of suppliers across the world and relies on a shipping industry that emits large quantities of toxins and carbon dioxide. 

About the Authors

Kate Crawford is a professor at New York University. Vladan Joler is a professor at the Academy of Arts at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia.


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