Platform Earth: Ecomodernism in Tech-on-Climate Discourse

Platform Earth explores how since the 2010s “Silicon Valley” has been reinventing itself as a green economy. The term “Silicon Valley” refers to the geographical region in California where the US tech culture is concentrated, but is also a metaphor for the North American tech sector as cultural phenomenon. Amidst growing concerns about climate change and in response to critiques on their environmental impact, tech actors such as Apple and Microsoft have developed elaborate ways to legitimize their operations. I refer to these legitimizing activities as “tech-on-climate discourse”: the ongoing production of sustainability reports, websites, commercials, tools, and initiatives. Through their promotional activities, tech actors construct new narratives about the relation between technology and “nature”. Together, they forward the myth of “Platform Earth”: the fantasy that Silicon Valley's platform ecosystem is good for the planet and will prove essential for “solving” the climate crisis.