PRS Europe PhD Examination - Gauthier Roussilhe (School of Design - RMIT University)

Join us for the PhD examination of School of Design candidate, Gauthier Roussilhe.

5pm - 7pm Wednesday 26 November.

Lost in the clouds - looking for sustainability in digitalisation policies

In recent decades, there has been a growing belief that the digitalisation of human activities would provide a natural response to the ecological transition objectives established in the mid-1990s. This conviction has been widely adopted, even if it has not always been thoroughly considered. The issue of sustainability has begun to be explored in recent years in the field of digital design, but these reflections have come up against the difficulty of questioning the relevance of digitalisation in relation to the current environmental crisis.

Starting over from an almost blank slate, a material and environmental exploration was undertaken to understand, layer by layer, how modern digital infrastructures work and their ecological impact. This investigation gave rise to learning methods based on field visits and visual translation methods that enable the construction of an optically consistent space for rapid learning. The accumulation of this specialised knowledge has enabled the emergence of a position of scientific expertise within French and European institutions, which has opened up new avenues for direct action on the assessment of the environmental relevance of digitalisation. Two investigations exemplify this new role: a first one on the environmental footprint of semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan and a second one on the assessment of net environmental impacts of digital solutions.

Through this stable position, groundwork has been laid to fight the institutionalised sociotechnical fantasy of a sustainable digitalisation. Similarly, the expert position has made it possible to influence the French government and the European Commission’s methods for evaluating supposedly sustainable digital solutions, to the point of affecting access to financial markets for actors claiming to deploy such solutions.

Through the production of new modes of learning, the implementation of new modes of action based on expert position, and the maintenance of constant reflexivity, this thesis explores new fields for investigative design. It provides an example of action that goes beyond the usual expectations of design in an attempt to influence large institutions from the margins.

Please note no entry will be permitted after commencement of this examination. Please aim to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. 

Location: CUB P1, Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 38, c, Sant Martí, 08018 Barcelona, Spain