About the temporary working group
The TWG Digital Technologies, Materiality, and the Environment investigates questions at the nexus of digital technologies and communication platforms and their environmental responsibility and social accountability. While the digitalization of society has been based on the premise of its sustainability, recent research has started to reveal the substantial damages caused by digital technologies. Especially the rise of generative AI has put new focus on the increasing energy consumption, the depletion of natural resources, and the growing amounts of digital and e-waste. The current development raises essential critical questions with regards to technological benefits versus the long-term environmental costs of digital technologies. The aim of the TWG is to bring together researchers working at the intersection of digital technologies and the environment with a specific focus on datafication and platform research, audience studies, organizational studies, media and communication research, and cultural anthropology. Specific attention is paid to the material aspects of digital technologies and their theoretical and empirical underpinnings. Next to discussing these topics, the TWG also wishes to examine necessary action and implications for policy-making.
The TWG accepts all submission types and further encourages researchers to propose alternative formats such as workshops, blue sky sessions, panels, roundtable discussions and other innovative approaches that foster dialogue, discussion and engagement.
