Ingrid Burrington on the Influence of Big Data Technologies

Module 6 Assignment
Name
Institution
Course
Instructor
Date
Module 6 Assignment
Big data technologies use software tools or other technologies designed for handling big data that feature huge volumes of data or information. These concepts have proved to influence the planet in various ways, both positively and negatively. For instance, companies offering streaming services to their consumers have largely contributed to more energy use and carbon emissions. Based on the course readings, the essay will highlight how big data technologies hinder the planetary future in different scopes, including climate change and sustainability.
Ingrid Burrington supports the negative influence of Big Data technologies on the planetary future in her publication "The Environmental Toll of a Netflix Binge." Most importantly, Burrington investigates the ecological effects of streaming services, concentrating on carbon emissions and energy utilization linked to data centers that boost these services. The author established that the rising usage of streaming programs such as Netflix leads to a critical environmental toll. The author recognizes the energy-intensive capacity of data centers that, in turn, keep and process huge amounts of data needed for streaming. Also, the centers utilize servers, which require substantial electricity to power them to maximize their effectiveness and practicality. Electricity is also necessary to sustain server infrastructure and cool the systems. Burrington stressed that energy utilization correlates directly with carbon discharges since most electricity originates from fossil fuels. Additionally, the writer explains the ‘peak demand’ aspect (Burrington, 2015) related to famous streaming sessions and binge-watching behavior whereby streaming services’ demand increases steadily. According to her, the surge usually results in extra energy utilization since data centers may restructure their processes to adapt to the risen traffic. The author suggests that the immediate energy consumption increase worsens the environmental impact.
Furthermore, Burrington builds concerns regarding the extensive repercussions of developing big data equipment or technologies. Although these innovative and progressing technological elements have resulted in conveniences and benefits, they harm the environment. The writer concludes that the increasing development of data-intensive facilities like streaming companies is overtaking the determination to shift to renewable energy resources. According to her, the observation deters a successful planetary future by supporting environmental harm and climate change (Burrington, 2015). Above all, the author sheds more light and clarifies streaming services’ ecological effects and the wider effects of big data technologies, including digital economies. Burrington supports that carbon discharge and energy usage from data facilities like Netflix's encouraging streaming threaten the environment and its sustainability. The quick digital economy development, alongside more reliance on fossil fuel-based electricity, obstructs people’s ability to mitigate climate change efficiently and safeguard the world.
Shoshana Zuboff provides a crucial basis for assessing big data technologies’ impact on the planet in “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.” The examination incorporates how these technologies will likely affect the environment, sustainability, and climate change. Zuboff emphasizes the tension between the technologies’ potential to ensure human wellness and surveillance capitalism’ jeopardies affecting privacy and manipulating humans. She argues that surveillance capitalism’s dominant logic, triggered by extracting and monetizing personal information, leads to crucial problems in mitigating persistent ecological matters (Zuboff, 2018). While big data technologies can cause harm, they possess significant power to foster sustainability by offering data-based perceptions and tools to mitigate climate change and ensure ...