A POETIC DECONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERNET: CABLES, TERRITORY, DATA & CO2.

Main topics covered in this workshop: #Internet Physicality; #Geopolitics of the Internet; #Internet Backbone Providers (NSP); #Internet Service Providers (ISP); #Communication technologies & CO2 emissions; #Online Tracking; #Data Brokers; #Cookies; #Data Privacy; #TOR

This workshop seeks to critically reveal, analyze and connect the complex network of material and immaterial agents that converge on the configuration of the Internet and its impact on the physical world. In this workshop we will trace and reveal some of the major “invisible” events that happen when accessing a website from the browser, such as the physical journey of the information through land and submarine cables (Geopolitics of the Internet) the different stakeholders (companies and countries) that have access to our data (Trackers, Data Brokers, Internet providers, Backbone providers and so on) and the environmental impact of the information flows (data and CO2 emissions). During the workshop we will carry out a deep analysis of this processes in order to capture them in a physical map that will allow us to visualize the amount of events triggered by a seemingly neutral URL request and reveal some crucial hidden mechanisms that sculpt our reality. I believe that highlighting the gap between action and consequence when operating through an electronic device is an essential exercise to enhance critical thought about the true nature of technology, and in the imagination of alternative techno-paradigms which may coherently respond to our environmental and human conditions.