I’m glad the issue of conflict minerals is seeing the light of day– literally. As this video depicts, minerals important for our communications infrastructure are often mined by children in conflict zones. Many of the materials that go into the manufacture and out with the disposal of computers, cell phones, etc. are devastating to the “global majorities” (those who actually comprise the majority of the world’s population, but are denied access to the benefits of global capitalism). I think that if we are to take seriously the idea of the transformation of consciousness as a result of communications technology, then we should also critically engage the world system that produces such devices. I’m not suggesting that it should be one or the other (that is no phones versus economic and ecological justice), yet I believe we need to turn the screws on the technology companies to behave more responsibly when they make products, and for us to be wiser consumers. Furthermore, we should think twice about tossing the old cell phone considering the hardship that went into producing its material reality.

This leads to a broader question concerning some of the Utopian thinking about communications technology: is it possible if such futures as the singularity occur, will artificial intelligence be able to gage the issue of social and ecological justice? Currently the programs that buy and sell commodities on international markets are the least interested in such concerns. How will computers sense the livelihood at the root of their own production?