The CODATA Center of Excellence in Data for Society at the University of Arizona (CEDS) hosted a MiniForum within the Extraction: Tracing the Veins virtual conference.
CEDS convenes university scholars, industry professionals, experts and practitioners, and citizen advocates to come together, solve shared sociotechnical problems, and reimagine our data-driven world.
The MiniForum featured speakers discussing biocultural data mining, the extractive and generative values of data, the legal and economic implications of text and data mining, data sovereignty, Indigenous data governance, digital communities, and data issues in COVID, smart city design, privacy, and new ways to think about data sharing in the post-pandemic economy.
This MiniForum was the first event in the CEDS Data Forum, which will continue to work with host institutions to convene international stakeholders across all sectors of society, and explore the issues of privacy, justice, fairness, representation, rights, and responsibilities for all those who produce and use data.
asynchronous, pre-recorded miniforum panels:
recorded Live discussions:
Digital Value, Data Rights, Extractivism & Indigenous Knowledge
Moderator: Stephanie von Gavel
Legal and Economic Issues in Data Mining
Moderator: Paul F. Uhlir
Health Data & Digital Society: Why is COVID Different?
Moderator: Jessica Meyerson
The MiniForum ended on July 9th with a live, half-day workshop to co-create a post-conference research collaboration. The recording of this discussion will be posted here soon!
Comments 6
Sounds fascinating.
‘Dig’ this;
“Bitcoin mining consumes more electricity a year than Ireland
This article is more than 2 years old so it will likely be measurably higher today;
Network’s estimated power use also exceeds that of 19 other European countries, consuming more than five times output of continent’s largest windfarm”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/27/bitcoin-mining-consumes-electricity-ireland
Yes, crypto mining and data storage are very resource intensive, and they represent a serious and growing ecological hazard. What do you think we should do about that?
Kia ora Merc and Kevin.
I think it’s very important not to bundle data storage and crypto mining together. Data storage combines a huge number of socially and/or ecologically useful/beneficial activities (ranging from people’s interpersonal communications to global climate modelling) with some others that are not (e.g. all the spam email and advertising sitting on servers). IMO those different things ought to be approached differently.
Bitcoin mining by contrast produces very little use value (aside from allowing people to buy drugs and stolen goods anonymously online). It largely involves using a huge amount of energy and matter to produce exchange value. On a planet where resources are being consumed far faster than they are replenished we need to stop that kind of ecologially destructive wastefulness. In practice that probably means regulating Bitcoin out of existence.
Also, for a good, up to date source on the amount of energy, electricity and ewaste used by Bitcoin mining see: https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption
Hi Sy-
Thank you for your response and for sharing a great information resource about Bitcoin. I agree that it is important to lay out each issue separately and then consider all of the different costs and benefits of Big Data when we make decisions about the adoption, implementation, or regulation of data-driven technologies.
To that end, let me try to briefly respond to each of your points:
Q: Data storage combines a huge number of socially and/or ecologically useful/beneficial activities (ranging from people’s interpersonal communications to global climate modelling) with some others that are not (e.g. all the spam email and advertising sitting on servers). IMO those different things ought to be approached differently.
A: In general, I agree that the net benefit of data storage outweighs many of the “analog” approaches to knowledge storage. But storage is just a slice of the Big Data ecosystem, so it’s really more accurate to discuss this topic in terms of global data usage–networks, communications, devices, and data centers combined. Energy consumption estimates of data usage range from 2% to 40%, but the truth is that nobody has ever conducted a comprehensive, global study, and these estimates represent outputs from models based on industry and regulator data.
But we do know that digital culture requires energy and infrastructure, and we should not be blind to the environmental costs of data usage. As consumers and people who have a general interest in enjoying a healthy natural environment, it is important that we understand that not every ecosystem is appropriate for housing a data farm, and we want to keep innovating until we find technology solutions that work in harmony with the natural world. In particular, I have concerns about undersea and arctic operations.
(see: https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-undersea-data-server-scotland/ and https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40922048).
Let’s also not forget that the global population is rapidly growing and millions of new people become digital users every day. This means that data demands will continue to grow, which will result in increasing environmental pressures if we keep investing in the same data infrastructure.
On the other side of this issue is emerging technologies in data and storage, such as quantum computing and optical storage.
(see: https://qz.com/1566061/quantum-computing-will-change-the-way-the-world-uses-energy/ and https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/5d-data-storage-how-does-it-work-and-when-can-we-use-it/).
Finally, to your point about SPAM and advertising that you describe as less useful or beneficial. First, I am not a fan of SPAM or advertising, but I do not have enough information about their value in a macroeconomic context, so I cannot judge the utility or benefit to society that this kind of data usage serves. However, this is the kind of thing that could be regulated, either through legal mechanisms, or by technological intervention.
How would you manage global data usage?
Q: Bitcoin mining by contrast produces very little use value (aside from allowing people to buy drugs and stolen goods anonymously online). It largely involves using a huge amount of energy and matter to produce exchange value. On a planet where resources are being consumed far faster than they are replenished we need to stop that kind of ecologially destructive wastefulness. In practice that probably means regulating Bitcoin out of existence.
A: First, I disagree that Bitcoin produces very little value. To the contrary, it produces a great deal of fiscal value to people around the world who do not have access to capital markets because of local government restrictions. You may be surprised to learn that the United States is one of the scores of nations currently developing a crypto supplement to their fiat currency. Further, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used by the financial industry in cooperation with NGOs and local governments to convey remittances across borders to refugees and billions of other unbanked individuals worldwide. Finally, it is my belief that cryptocurrency will become the “coin of the realm” by the end of this decade, as the COVID pandemic destroys economies and plunges the globe into economic depression. Still, the scarcity-based Bitcoin model is antithetical to our current understanding of data-driven value, and in my opinion, crypto mining operations will die off as more modern and globally-relevant crypto models are widely adopted.
In the meantime, regulating Bitcoin out of existence is not really possible, because it exists on the same infrastructure that we use for all our other data needs. However, it could be possible to impose a blockchain tax to recover some of that value at the local level, and then apply those remunerations to mitigate the ecological impacts of data mining.
The most important idea that I can share is that governments and communities need to be very thoughtful about engaging in new technologies BEFORE we make political, infrastructure, energy, and fiduciary commitments. People always have and always will use more energy, more technology, and more natural resources. It is our right and responsibility to demand that technology serves society, and that data technology reflects our values and goals.
Hiii
Hi Pradeep-
What are your thoughts on data rights?