The Thermodynamics of Capital: Artificial Intelligence, Energy Crisis, and Ecological Crisis
- Issue:
- Vol. 78, No. 02 (June 2026)
June 1, 2026
Te Li unravels the myth of digital dematerialization so heavily promulgated by Silicon Valley and other AI boosters, which presents the technology as a phenomenon that has escaped the material realm and thus, entropy itself. In fact, Li shows that the material and energetic requirements of AI places it squarely in the physical realm, then situates the technology within the context of the metabolic rift under capitalism.