On Heat, Desire, and the Thermopolitics of Data

Detta keynote-föredrag, som hålls inom ramen för PARSE-konferensen för konstnärlig forskning Some Like it Hot, belyser hur digitala teknologier i form av datacenter påverkar sårbara samhällen genom överproduktion av värme. Föredraget föreslår även vägar mot alternativa former av datalagring och nya energikulturer.

On Heat, Desire, and the Thermopolitics of Data by Marina Otero Verzier, moderated by Onkar Kular, programmed as part of the 6th biennial PARSE artistic research conference Some Like it Hot: 

This talk traces the entangled geographies of heat within digital infrastructures. From the residual warmth expelled by servers to the rising planetary temperatures fuelled by an ever-expanding network of data centers, computation operates as both a generator and amplifier of thermal excess. Yet heat is not merely a byproduct—it is a condition. It saturates the mountainous territories where minerals are extracted to sustain digital operations, and it radiates through the bodies and ecologies subjected to extractive violence.

Drawing from case studies across mining projects and data farms, the activity will examine how thermal regimes are spatialized, managed, and contested—and propose pathways toward new energy cultures.

Before your visit

Drop-in, no pre-registration required. Limited seating available.

The activity is in English.