Skip to content

Tracking the true planetary impact of the AI supply chain

Tags:

Event overview

We were delighted to welcome Alistair Alexander (Researcher, Reclaimed Technologies) to GTSW.

From Stargate data centres to the Indigenous Arctic – tracking the true planetary impact of the AI supply chain.

The ecological cost of AI is likely to be much higher than you realise. AI’s environmental impacts go far beyond the operational costs of data centres, which is where the conversation about making AI more sustainable tends to focus.

In this talk, Alistair examines the semiconductor industry, which supplies the microchips powering AI’s processing capabilities. As these microchips grow in complexity, each generation requires more energy, minerals and water than the last, driving a ruinous cycle which appears to have no end in sight.

He’ll help us follow the AI supply chain to “megacluster” AI microchip factories responsible for spewing out forever chemicals into the land, such as in Taiwan, all the way up to First Nation lands in Canada and Greenland, targeted for their rich deposits of rare earths and copper.

This talk will also platform the voices of often unheard indigenous leaders, workplace organisers, lawyers and activists who are resisting AI’s toxic supply chain at every point along the way.

Alistair will explain how the AI boom is being built on a new wave of planetary pollution, extraction and exploitation at a scale the world has simply never seen before, that responsible technologists need to be aware of.

About Alistair

Alistair writes, researches and engages diverse groups of people on the ecological and social impact of technology. He works with activists, academics and campaigners on reimagining our technology futures.

Alistair Alexander | LinkedIn
https://reclaimedsystems.substack.com/

His recent article for TruthDig on this topic: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-ecological-cost-of-ai-is-much-higher-than-you-think/.

Follow Alistair on LinkedIn

Alistair’s slides

Alistair_GTSW_sep26

Or download the slides here

Watch the event video

Please enjoy the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iSmpzDGva0

Our slides

To accompany each event we put together a short deck to introduce GTSW to those attending and highlight other events that have caught our eye happening in the local area or online.

GTSW sides for Sept 2026 event .

Useful resources mentioned