Data (un)sustainability

Abstract

In our contemporary digital age, our relationship with technology and data has become unsustainable. This chapter addresses the multifaceted challenges surrounding data sustainability. It highlights the pervasive influence of Big Tech corporations and the urgent need for addressing data extractivism, privacy, ethics, ownership, and digital rights concerns. As digital citizens, technology profoundly shapes our lives. Utopian resistance movements have emerged to challenge the dominance of data giants, seeking to redefine data ownership and ethical rules. Emerging digital citizenship regimes play a central role in reshaping the data landscape, with evolving regulatory frameworks and initiatives promoting responsible and sustainable data practices. The chapter explores emancipatory datafication strategies, including (i) blockchain-based decentralized data architectures, (ii) decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and (iii) data co-operatives, as means to empower individuals and communities in reclaiming control over their data. In conclusion, the chapter advocates for a paradigm shift in data governance, emphasizing the importance of transdisciplinary collaboration. It calls for collective efforts to build more equitable and sustainable data spaces and ecosystems, with a focus on prioritizing data sovereignty and achieving digital emancipation. Navigating utopian resistance while tracing emancipatory datafication strategies is crucial in light of data’s pivotal role in global digital economies.