Computation, Data and AI in Anthropocene History (2024) History and Technology
Center for Anthropocene History Co-director Adam Wickberg has co-authored an article in the journal History and Technology on how Data and AI play a role in Anthropocene History, not least in efforts at monitoring and managing nature.
Full Article: A. Wickberg and J. Gärdebo (2024) " Computation, data and AI in Anthropocene history ," History & Technology, pp. 1-19.
"This essay engages with recent scholarship on the epistemology of AI, data and automation, to assert how these practices are becoming increasingly central both to the projects of monitoring and of managing a global environment. We also review Jürgen Renn’s recent contribution The Evolution of Knowledge (2020) in relation to the history of environmental data. Using Renn as point of departure, we stake out a way for understanding the Anthropocene through the interaction between data and environment, taking into account the deeper political implications of datafication. We conclude with discussions about how historians of technology and environment could play an important role in assessing the opportunities and risks of AI for global environmental justice before their full-scale implementation is a fait accompli..."