This is a conversation with Paz Peña, a Chile-based independent consultant and activist, who recently published a paper entitled “Bigger, more, better, faster: The ecological paradox of digital economies” for Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch). This is episode 90 of The Fire These Times podcast.

The research by Paz Peña is part of a report launched by the Association for Progressive Communications. You can find the full report here.

Topics Discussed:

• Digital economies and environmental sustainability
• The ecological paradox of dematerialisation
• ‘Smart cities’ and the Internet of Things (IoT)
• The problem with techno-solutionism
• Tech in the framework of degrowth and postgrowth
• Artificial Intelligence is a feminist issue
• Tech isn’t neutral

Recommended Books:

• Posthuman Knowledge by Rosi Braidotti
• Cómo pensar juntos by Isabelle Strengers
• After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration by Holly Jean Buck

I mentioned my article for Shado Mag on the Emotional Case for Postgrowth

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Music by Tarabeat.