Artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and electronic waste are reshaping environmental justice across the Global South, but understanding those changes requires looking beyond simple narratives of technology, pollution and development
EXPERT Q&A
Digital technologies-from artificial intelligence to smartphones and data centers-are often described as "clean" innovations. Yet every device depends on minerals, electricity, labor and global supply chains, raising important questions about environmental justice and development.
As countries across the Global South play an increasingly important role in that system, researchers are examining how technology reshapes communities, health and the environment.
Bilal Butt is a professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. His research examines political ecology, environmental justice, health infrastructure and development across the Global South. He studies how governance, technology and environmental change shape communities and landscapes, with current work exploring environmental data justice and the politics of climate adaptation.
As investment in digital infrastructure grows across the Global South, what environmental justice questions are you most interested in exploring?
We try to look across the entire ecosystem rather than focusing on one technology in isolation. If there is going to be more technology infrastructure in the Global South, one of the first questions is: How will it be powered? Where will the electricity come from, and what infrastructure is needed to generate and transmit it? One example is the Lake Turkana wind power project in northern Kenya. The electricity generation project was completed years before the transmission infrastructure was ready to connect it to the national grid. Looking only at the technology misses the larger political and economic systems that make these projects possible.
We are also interested in the growing datafication of development and the environment. In places like the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, farmers increasingly use financial technology and agricultural apps that rely on the data they generate. That information becomes valuable for companies making decisions about productivity, financing and agricultural practices. Looking across the broader system allows us to see relationships that are not visible if we focus only on the technology itself.
Discussions about technology sometimes describe countries such as India as "AI dumping grounds." How does your research challenge that idea?
Political ecology encourages us to ask what we mean by the state. It is not accurate to treat any country, such as India, as though it has a uniform set of policies or experiences. Agricultural policy in the state of Haryana differs from that in the states of Maharashtra and Punjab, or even in southern India. There are many actors, institutions and local histories operating simultaneously.
Researchers should move back and forth between the local and the broader picture. We want to understand site-specific histories while also identifying larger patterns. National-level analysis can become too simplistic if it ignores those differences. India certainly has a long and complicated history of environmental violence and environmental activism. But good research requires us to be specific about the places, policies and conditions we are examining, rather than assuming the same story applies everywhere.
What can the history of global waste and resource extraction teach us about today's digital economy?
There is a long history of pollution being shifted to places where labor is inexpensive and environmental protections are weaker. You see that in industries like shipbreaking in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, where workers have often faced greater risks because of unequal labor and regulatory systems. In many ways, those patterns resemble colonial relationships, where some countries bear a disproportionate share of environmental and social costs.
At the same time, there have been efforts to change those systems through international rules and greater accountability. It is important to recognize that today's conversations about AI and digital infrastructure build on much older histories of industrial production, resource extraction and waste.
What are some of the biggest misconceptions about electronic waste and technology disposal in the Global South?
One misconception is that AI has created an entirely new problem. Computing has always depended on hardware, electricity and human labor. AI is part of a much longer technological history. Another misconception is that communities receiving electronic waste are simply passive victims. We know that older electronics, from televisions and DVD players to other consumer devices, have been shipped in large quantities to places like Ghana for decades.
Research in environmental justice shows that these are highly organized spaces with complex systems of governance and labor. There are different roles, different levels of experience and clear divisions of responsibility. Gender also shapes who performs the most hazardous work and who bears the greatest burden. Children and other marginalized groups are often disproportionately affected. None of this minimizes the environmental or health risks. But if we imagine everyone at a recycling or waste site as having the same experience, we miss the social and political complexity within those communities. That kind of simplified narrative ultimately makes it harder to understand the real environmental justice challenges.
