Computing and the Environment: Introducing a Special Issue of Information & Culture

In much of the literature on the information society, its defining characteristic is assumed to be its immateriality. That is to say, as our interactions and activities become less dependent on the movement of atoms and more focused on the manipulation of bits, they seem less limited by the constraints of physical reality. But when we look closely at the material underpinnings of the information economy—from the minerals that make up digital devices to the massive amounts of energy and water required to power data centers—it becomes clear that information technologies are firmly grounded in the physical environment. In fact, information technologies continuously shape not only the physical environment but also representations of the relationship between natural and built worlds.