Wege in eine ökologische Machine Economy

In the age of the Machine Economy, machine-to-machine communication is ubiquitous. Rising technologies offer new opportunities for sustainability. But they apply pressure on the environment as well. Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) are the technological foundation of the Machine Economy. Associated infrastructures, data streams and applications require large amounts of energy as well as resources. The current policy discourse as well as sustainability research focuses on environmental impacts through digital infrastructures. Data, applications as well as the role of actors as drivers of environmental impact are not sufficiently understood. This paper introduces the concept of "Green Governance of the Machine Economy". We address systemic drivers of environmental impacts and their effects. The goal is to enable a system of sustainable decision-making and an ecological interplay of all technologies involved in value creation. Future research should further elaborate the hypotheses presented here and develop concrete options for action for a cross-stakeholder roadmap.

Daniel Wurm, Oliver Zielinski, Neeske Lübben, Maike Jansen, Stephan Ramesohl:

Wege in eine ökologische Machine Economy

Wir brauchen eine "Grüne Governance der Machine Economy", um das Zusammenspiel von Internet of Things, Künstlicher Intelligenz und Distributed Ledger Technology ökologisch zu gestalten

Wuppertal, 2021

(Wuppertal Report no. 22)