critical infrastructure lab

As software development is increasingly going cloud-native and the lore of AI efficiency gains are driving demand for computational power, data centers are a new frontier of environmental destruction and democratic deficit. While Big Tech companies acquire massive server capacity and energy resources, communities face the consequences: depleted water supplies, overwhelmed electrical grids, and degraded air quality. This expansion occurs alongside a coordinated deregulatory assault that strips away environmental protections under the guise of “competitiveness” and “innovation.”

Our workshop confronts this crisis head-on, examining how data center proliferation requires resilience and resistance against deregulation and for environmental justice. We will dissect the mechanisms through which tech giants circumvent environmental oversight, exploit regulatory gaps, and capture policymaking processes. 

This begs the questions: what do we need all this computing for? At what cost are we subsidizing Big Tech? How can we keep our computing infrastructure within planetary boundaries? 

The session will build on last year’s session “down with datacenters” [1] to explore three themes, what is a public interest policy agenda, how can we achieve the urgent need for transparency in European data infrastructure, and how to connect local resistance across Europe. The promise of cloud compute driven prosperity and competition masks a system that privatizes profits while socializing environmental and social costs. Current opacity allows corporations to hoard capacity while communities remain uninformed about local environmental impacts. We will examine proposals for mandatory disclosure of data center energy consumption, cooling water usage, and capacity allocation to Big Tech versus public services. This transparency framework represents a crucial tool for democratic accountability and environmental protection.

The panel will map concrete resistance strategies, from grassroots organizing against data center siting to policy advocacy for stronger environmental standards. We will map successful community campaigns that have challenged data center expansion and extract lessons for broader application. Our discussion will connect local environmental justice struggles to systemic questions about digital infrastructure governance and the right to a healthy environment.

[1] https://www.criticalinfralab.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CIL007.pdf

Speakers / facilitators

1. Max Schulze (SME) – Leitmotiv speaker / facilitator
2. Max van Thun (Civil Society) – Technology policy advocate focusing on Big Tech accountability and infrastructure transparency Open Markets Institute speaker / facilitator
3. One of the authors of the joint statement ‘Within Bounds: Limiting AI’s environmental impact’, this will either be Maya Richman (Green Screen), Jill McArdle (Beyond Fossil Fuels), or Fieke Jansen (Academia critical infrastructure lab) speaker / facilitator
4. Corinne Cath (civil society) – moderator / facilitator

May 12-13, 2025 at Utrecht

The purpose of the two day workshop is to bring together scholars and artists who have each engaged in developing data walks or similar projects, in order for them to reflect on the phenomena of data walks as a methodological approach to data power and critical infrastructure studies. The two day workshop will have space and time to explore the city of Utrecht, engage with like minded participants, and conduct a collective experiment in data walking resulting in a report/fanzine. The first day is dedicated to getting to know each other and exchanging perspectives in “show and tell” style presentations of prior work and the state of the art. The second day is for devising and conducting a collective experiment in data walk as a method. After the walk we discuss the experiment and document it in the form of a report/fanzine, with the help of facilitators in spontaneous experimental publishing.

The workshop is organised by the critical infrastructure lab, Institutions for Open Societies’ Open Cities research platform and the Data School, with [urban interfaces] at Utrecht University.

‘Unequal societies will produce technologies that will reproduce inequalities’

Why do we give creative tasks to a technology that is statistically trained to give you the most mediocre answer? This question, posed by Dr. Niels ten Oever, one of the leaders of the ACES Theme Group Tech, Power, and Policy, sets the tone for a wide-ranging and critical conversation about Europe’s technological trajectory. To mark Europe Day on May 9th, ACES spoke with him about the Europe’s digital challenges the politics of infrastructure, and the values at stake in the continent’s technological future.

Read the entire interview here.

Join the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance for their upcoming event on operationalizing values in Dutch digital infrastructure. Building on our successful first get-to-together, we’re bringing together providers and purchasers to showcase real progress in implementing sustainability, transparency, and local impact in the digital infrastructure market.

Through debates, an interactive workshop and case studies, you’ll gain practical insights from market leaders who are already benefiting from this shift. Whether you’re a regional provider looking to gain a competitive edge or a purchaser wanting to shape a more sustainable market, this event offers concrete steps to transform your organization.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of a growing community that’s actively reshaping the digital infrastructure landscape in the Netherlands. Together, we’ll explore how transparency, sustainability, and local impact can become foundational market values.

We are organizing this event in collaboration with the critical infrastructure lab.

Date: February 25th
Time: 13.45 – 18.00
Registration required