There’s something staunchly ironic and incredibly frustrating about artificial intelligence being used to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terrorize immigrant communities.
Before AI becomes a surveillance tool, it is first powered by a data center. That data center is powered by critical minerals — such as lithium, uranium, and cobalt — that are mined from Native lands.
“All this for something that is in service to empire,” said Anissa, a citizen of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and an organizer with the No Desert Data Center Coalition based in Tucson, Arizona.
“They require energy generation (which also takes large amounts of water, is tied to the fossil fuels industry, and has a legacy of contamination and health impacts on Tribal Nations).”
The result is an uptick in data center construction near Indigenous territories. At least 60 proposed or constructed data center projects exist on or near Native lands.
But as the government’s AI capabilities expand, immigrants and Native lands are not all that is at risk. Heightened surveillance comes at the price of everyone’s privacy, which could result in further crackdown of environmental movements.
The Latest at Counterstream
We had a blast discussing AI, Attention Activism & Environmental Justice with the School of Radical Attention!
On May 8, we sat down with attention activists at the School of Radical Attention (SoRA) to explore how the attention and environmental justice movements can organize against extractive AI.
SoRA members Capri LaRocca and Henry Kramer shared strategies for taking our attention back from extractive AI algorithms. Peace & Riot contributor Amirio Freeman explained how culture can free us from the myth of innovation. And Assistant Editor Julia Luz Betancourt broke down how communities are resisting AI surveillance through grassroots organizing.
Thank you to the School of Radical Attention for planning and hosting this event, our panelists Capri LaRocca, Henry Kramer, and Amirio Freeman, our host Peter Schmidt, and to everyone who came out for this inspiring discussion!
TOMORROW: Join Counterstream Co-Founder Shilpi Chhotray and Compassion in Crisis Co-Author Kate Weiner in Oakland on May 20!
We’ll be at Nomadic Books in Oakland, California at 5:30pm PT for a special discussion on building disaster-resilient communities. This event is free, but registration is required for a seat, so save yourself one now by registering below!
Movement News
‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in the Everglades expected to close
The Everglades are responsible for the drinking water of millions of people in Florida. After environmental groups and the Muskogee Tribe pursued litigation arguing the center will devastate the river of grass, officials said the facility will close and move the immigrants detained elsewhere. Read more
11th-generation resident responds to “NOLA Past the Point of Return”
“Stop saying ‘relocate New Orleans,’” writes Christopher Ard. “You can move the cathedral to Jackson, Mississippi, the Superdome to Houston, your grandma’s house in Treme to Atlanta — and it will not be New Orleans. Nowhere else will be New Orleans.” Read more
The Stillaguamish Tribe is buying farmland to flood it — in hopes of bringing back the Chinook Salmon
The Tribe has converted farmland into tidal marshes, crucial nurseries for young Chinook salmon being used to bring these fish back from the brink of extinction. Read more
Worth Revisiting
Peace & Riot Picks: How to Reclaim Our Focus from AI
Recommended readings and resources from the Counterstream team on how to strengthen the skills AI tries to undermine.