‘Alexa, turn on the hall lights’

Take a really good look at this infographic (link to more info here).

It’s an anatomical case study of the Amazon Echo as an artificial intelligence system make of human labor, data and planetary resources.

We have been testing AI tools at TwinEngine for the last few years and the impact on what’s coming next.

The notion of artificial intelligence may seem distant and abstract, but AI is already pervasive in our daily lives. Anatomy of an AI System analyzes the vast networks that underpin the “birth, life, and death” of a single Amazon Echo smart speaker, painstakingly compiling and condensing this huge volume of information into a detailed high-resolution diagram.

One word – Fascinating.

This work by Kate Crawford, a leading scholar of the social and political implications of artificial intelligence, displayed at The Museum of Modern Art provides insights into the massive quantity of resources involved in the production, distribution, and disposal of that small speaker sitting in your office and home.