The Supply Chain Capitalism of AI: A Call to (Re)think Algorithmic Harms and Resistance (Extended Abstract)

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is woven into a supply chain of capital, resources and human labour that has been neglected in debates about the social impact of this technology. Given the current surge in generative AI—which is estimated to use more natural resources than classic machine learning algorithms—it is vital that we better understand its production networks. Building on Tsing’s concept of supply chain capitalism, this paper offers a journey through the AI industry by illustrating the complex, diverse, opaque and global structures of the AI supply chain. The paper then illustrates an ethnographic research in Latin America revealing that AI’s rapid infrastructural growth may be precipitating environmental struggles. Investigating the supply chain capitalism of AI reveals that eco-political frictions are arising. This demands broad critical perspectives on AI studies from a critical perspective by considering the entire capitalist production line of its industry.