AI and the Circular Economy

How will digital tools like AI, IoT, big data, and smart phone apps help (or hurt) local, community-level sustainability efforts? Humanity is at major cross-roads, in which the culture and policies around advanced digital tools and big data may shape our trajectory on science-based sustainability targets for years to come. They also stand to continue to be used predominantly as tools of business efficiency, while their potential for addressing social inequities remain untapped. Meanwhile, the problems of waste and material consumption are continuing to grow, with global waste projected to nearly double by 2050.

Join Concordia ’24-’25 Public Scholar, Faisal Shennib for an event that invites users to engage with AI-driven technology for sustainability developed through the OpenWaste.ai project, testing their every-day knowledge and motivation around waste and the environment, while asking them to imagine the social implications of the technology and the way it can be harnessed for a future of collective justice. 

A panel discussion will follow with key stakeholders and experts with their takes on how digitization, community engagement, and policy can come together to help communities reach zero waste, including at Concordia University, as well as on the hazards of blindly embracing more technology to solve the waste and resource consumption crisis.

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

Arrien Weeks

Designer and Co-founder of Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse.

Jessica Winton

Research Assistant for OpenWaste.ai and designer of Waste Invaders waste sorting arcade game.