Anatomy of an AI System
Environmental & social costs
How AI works
What can I learn?
A large, detailed anatomical map, by Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler, of the human labour, data and planetary resources needed to make a single Amazon Echo work. Starting from one voice command — "Alexa, turn on the hall lights" — it traces the vast, interlaced chains of extraction, logistics, prediction and optimisation behind that moment.
Core insight
Every effortless AI interaction sits on top of a planetary-scale system of mining, manufacturing, labour and data extraction. The convenience is real, but so is the enormous, hidden infrastructure that produces it.
How to use it in daily work
A landmark visual reference for conveying the true scale and cost of consumer AI devices, ideal for prompting reflection in a group.
- Walk a group through the map to make the environmental and labour costs of a smart speaker concrete and memorable.
- Use the "Alexa, turn on the lights" framing to connect an everyday action to the global systems behind it.