To reduce the resource use and waste generated by technology, embracing 'not doing' aka 'refusal' is essential for achieving degrowth. Refusal suggests a starting point of resistance and a deliberate move towards reimagining more just futures. With computing's potential to be employed in violent and oppressive ways, refusal and collective resistance and interconnected tools that need to go beyond simply turning abstract notions of justice and fairness by creating opportunities to re-evauluate foundational assumptions of technical projects and thus allowing for active re-imagination of just futures. By refusing technological inevitablility we enable forms of resistance to emerge and alternative techno-futures to be considered.
The history of computing is deeply intertwined with capitalism and militarism. From playing a role in warfare and geopolitical power struggles to driving the automation of labor, computing has significantly contributed to the increased use of resources and fossil energy. The latest example of this trend is the construction of hyperscale data centers for running generative AI. Despite the promise of increased efficiency, the Jevons Paradox applies: higher efficiency tends to lead to greater resource use. Efficiency is often presented as a technical solution to a political issue—making decisions about how and why we use computing on a heating planet—without questioning the extractive business model.
Curbing demand through refusal has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reduce computing’s harm to people and the planet, and that's where the value of 'not doing' comes in. By observing and questioning what is truly needed, we bring attention to the broader issues: What is necessary? Who benefits? Who is harmed? And what are the impacts on the human and more-than-human environment?
What can YOU do?
With or without a computer
- On a small scale, the act of not doing is itself a powerful contribution to sustainability. Sometimes, the greatest benefit to the planet comes from simply choosing not to act. Enjoy the pause.
- On a larger scale, practice refusal by joining strategic efforts to reject harmful computing applications.
- At a smaller scale, make many small everyday refusals to boycott resource-hungry, harmful (to people and/or planet) technologies or infrastructures, such as Big Tech services, in your workplace or community.
When creating and maintaining software, digital tools or infrastructure
- Join or organize a tech worker union or strike.
- Collectively refuse to work on harmful technologies.
Principle in action & examples
Besides the many invisible non-acts of 'not doing', projects of refusal such as the tech worker initiative no tech for apartheid, activism against the AI powered genocide in Gaza (link here?), activism against the arrival of data centers in your region such as citizens blocking the arrival of a Meta datacenter in Zeewolde (NL). But also: The SIDN case illustrates not doing as a political and infrastructural stance: refusing to treat hyperscale cloud migration as inevitable, and instead questioning the logic of outsourcing critical public internet functions to corporate platforms like AWS.