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TOPIC A: THE SOCIOECOLOGICAL COSTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Today, AI companies are making their models smarter not only through innovation, but also by building huge data centers to process ever-larger amounts of data. Though AI may seem futuristic and high-tech, its actual development is inseparable from conflict minerals, exploitative labor, and the destabilization of local communities. For example, cobalt, a necessary part of the cathode in lithium batteries, is largely produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where working conditions are deeply inhumane and mining profits often go toward military operations that have killed thousands and displaced millions. Meanwhile, e-waste from AI is often transported to large dumps in Global South countries, where workers and residents suffer from exposure to toxic contaminants. In the Global North, environmentally damaging data centers are frequently built near marginalized communities without regard to the interests of local residents. How can international cooperation, regulation, and transparency protect human rights while maintaining technological progress? As the AI race rages on, SPECPOL will reckon with the neocolonial dynamics that force vulnerable communities and the developing world to bear the greatest costs of technological progress.

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TOPIC B: FOREIGN-FUNDED INFRASTRUCTURE AND SELF-DETERMINATION IN AFRICA

 

Foreign-backed infrastructure is a crucial driver of development across Africa. China’s Belt and Road Initiative has funded railways improving inter-African connectivity and the Gulf states have invested in strategic port infrastructure around the Horn of Africa. In addition, European banks have supported the development of transmission lines, hydropower plants, and climate-resilient road networks. These projects often provide critical upgrades in transportation and energy systems, but they also come with concerns about external influence, long-term dependency, and asymmetrical negotiations. Furthermore, some infrastructure agreements have been criticized for relying heavily on imported labor and materials while prioritizing export routes for raw materials, therefore prioritizing foreign interests over local industrial development. Large-scale construction can also displace communities and concentrate environmental harms in vulnerable regions, while profits and operational control remain in foreign hands. Ultimately, decolonization necessitates that modern-day economic relationships do not replicate historical hierarchies and inequalities. Throughout this committee, SPECPOL must work to address Africa’s development needs while safeguarding the right to self-determination.  

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CHAIR: Ziyi Yan