The International Workshop & Summer School on the Political Economy of Green-Digital Transition just took place during 4 – 6 and 10 – 14 June, and we are excited to share with you some of the highlights from the event. We had productive intellectual and social interactions with 14 renowned speakers and over 50 young researchers over presentations, debates, meals, forest walks and saunas.

Here is a brief recap of what we covered in the talks and presentations.

At the workshop, Edemilson Paraná, from LUT University, questioned the discourse of the green-digital transition by bringing forth its underpinning ideologies and exploring the socio-economic and environmental implications of the twin transition. Rodrigo Santaella, Pedro Nardelli, from LUT University, and Cédric Durand, from University of Geneva, explored the potential role of democratic, decentralised, planning—as an alternative to market-based technical solutionism—in addressing ecological crisis. Paola Tubaro, from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, revealed the human and environmental footprints of AI in the Global South through case studies from Argentina and Madagascar that reveal the unequal global value chain of data work. Cecilia Rikap, from University College London, presented a history of planning of innovation and specifically the production of AI by intellectual monopoly big techs. James Steinhoff, University College Dublin, examined the emerging technology of hyper realistic 3D simulation as a tool for facilitating the infrastructural construction process, rendering a new general condition of production in capitalism.

At the summer school, Markus Kröger, from University of Helsinki, introduced a framework to theorise the driving forces of global climate tipping points: extractivism, regionally dominate political economies and moral economies. Phoebe Moore, from University of Essex, delved into the rights of subjects in the age of datafication, questioning the notions of quantified, datafied self and the risks it brings to workers’ subjectivity. Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn, from University of Groningen, proposed the concept of knowledge infrastructure to counter the “growth infrastructure imperative” through a case study on bitcoin and blockchain as degrowth knowledge infrastructures. Antti Silvast, from LUT University, shared his insights on the institutional, disciplinary and funding impacts on interdisciplinary research through his ethnographic experiences in the UK, Norway and Finland. João C. Vieira-Magalhães, from University of Groningen, discussed the political economy of platform content moderation, elaborating on how platforms change politics through the rules of speech governance, as well as the relations between economic incentives and content moderation. Beliz Boni, from Alameda Institute, highlighted the increasing influence of big tech in media, particularly through micro-media and questioned the ads-driven profit motive of these micro-media in conveying messages for climate industries. Paolo Gerbaudo, from Complutense University Madrid, delivered a critical examination of the twin transition through reading the Next Gen EU programme, in which he analysed the tendencies and shortcoming of EU’s return to state planning and new forms of exclusion related to digitalised states. 

In addition to senior scholars’ presentations, early career researchers presented their work under five themes: AI, Platform Capitalism and Commons-Based Economies; Critical Approaches to Digital Capitalism; Theories and Practices of Green-Energy Transition; Datafication and Institutional Responsibility Towards Sustainability; and Energy Efficiency, Governance and Sustainable Materials. The young researchers received personalised feedback and clarifying questions to help them develop their work further. It was a great start for an important network on the critical analysis of the green and digital transition from different perspectives.

Outside of the intense intellectual engagements, we had plenty of activities together outdoors by the lake, in the saunas, along the harbour, over lunch and dinner, and even in karaoke where new friendships were fostered and lasting memories created.

By the end of the event, most of the invited speakers committed to contributing to a Special Issue on the Political Economy of Green Digital Transition, to be published in the journal Globalizations.

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The International Workshop & Summer School on the Political Economy of Green-Digital Transition was supported by the Finnish National Agency for Education, The Economic Education Foundation, Academy of Finland, and Alameda Institute.

Updated on 19 June 2024.