Research from the Faculty of Social Sciences will look at the lived experience of communities living amidst the development of AI data centres and the extent to which sustainability features in two countries’ AI policies.
'Negotiating Sustainable AI: Policies and Lived Experiences of the socio-ecological impacts of AI Infrastructures from Mexico and India' is a new project led by Dr Preeti Raghunath from the School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations and Dr Itzelle Medina Perea from the School of Information, Journalism and Communications.
The project will ask two questions: firstly, how does social and ecological sustainability feature in AI policy initiatives in India and Mexico? Secondly, what are the lived experiences of individuals and communities who are affected by the material and social infrastructures of AI in these countries, such as land acquisition, water availability, environmental clearances and labour laws?
Dr Preeti Raghunath, Lecturer in Digital Media and Society said: “At the recent international AI Impact Summit hosted by India and beyond, we saw investments in AI infrastructures becoming a proxy for sovereignty in the era of AI. However, there’s much to be unravelled about displacement of communities as a result of land acquisition for data centres, the tax holidays given to Big Tech hyperscalers that will now be borne by the wider public, energy and water shortages and more, especially in countries of the Global South”
Dr Itzelle Medina Perea, Lecturer in Information Systems said: “By bringing grounded perspectives from India and Mexico, we seek to contribute to ongoing discussions about the societal and human impacts of investments in AI, and how we can respond to these developments in an ethical and environmentally responsible way."
The field research for the project will begin in March 2026 and will be undertaken in collaboration with three external partners: InfoCDMX, The Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and AI+Planetary Justice Alliance.
InfoCDMX is Mexico City’s Institute of Transparency and Access to Information, the body which proposed the first legal initiatives to regulate AI in Mexico’s public sector. InfoCDMX will connect the research team with local stakeholders in Mexico, and host local forum events to gather feedback from residents.
DEF empowers marginalised, rural communities in India via local women social entrepreneurs, called SoochnaPreneurs, who are equipped with digital skills and infrastructure to serve village-level communities. DEF also runs their own ‘Just AI’ initiative, engaging with communities impacted by data centre development and will provide community-centric research to the project, as well as support for a stakeholder event in India.
AI+Planetary Justice Alliance is an international body which aims to illuminate the global impacts of the AI supply chain and demand accountability in its production and use. They will connect the research team with international stakeholders and help facilitate a final online engagement event at the culmination of the project in 2026.
The research will be supported by two research assistants. Dr Omar Diaz Fragoso, Doctoral Researcher in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication, will work on the project’s Mexican case study. An RA to support the Indian case study will be recruited in the coming weeks.
The project is funded by the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures.