arXiv subjects

Srinjoy Mitra

Publications and source records attributed to Srinjoy Mitra.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Too cheap to matter: over abundant microchips, and what we can learn from them

Ultra-cheap microchips (<$1) are so abundant they've become a 'smart material' integrated and disposable in everyday things. Hidden in our everyday products, we have entirely lost sight of them, yet they account for the vast majority of the >400 billion pieces sold each year. As new technology nodes are released, older ones (from as far back as the 1980s) continue to be produced. These microchips do not exist on their own; they are packaged into every possible item to bring 'smartness', necessary or not; this simultaneously increases their obsolescence. While the latest ICs power our data centres and AI revolution that draws our attention, what about technology so disposable that it has become entirely invisible? We report on our workshop at ICT4S exploring these devices' true costs, and pose challenges to the LOCO community to push back on this system, and develop the skills necessary to create lasting technology and avoid further e-Waste.

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arXiv2026

Counting own goals: High-level assessment of the economic relationship between the ICT and the Oil and Gas sectors and its environmental implications

The ICT sector has been one of the most successful and fastest-growing industry in history. While the environmental issue in this sector has mainly been addressed by assessing its footprint and, to a lesser extent, its avoided emissions or net impacts, the additional emissions from the digitalization of carbon-intensive activities, such as the Oil and Gas (O&G) sector, have rarely been discussed. By doing so, we have forgotten to count the own goals conceded over more than 20 years in the troubled relationship between the ICT and the O&G sector. Using input-output analysis and economic data ranging from 2000 to 2022, we observe that on average 2% of the annual financial flows from the ICT sector are directed towards the Oil and Gas sector. Considering the significant growth of the ICT sector during this time, O&G companies now spends a massive amount on ICT products in absolute terms. It also appears that in 2022, for each dollar going from the ICT sector to the renewable and nuclear energy industry, more than $4 go to the O&G industry. In addition, we also provide a classification of digital activities in the O&G sector to facilitate environmental assessments and present two case studies estimating potential added emissions from the digitalization of oil activities. Finally, looking at the immense growth in generative AI, we provide an exploration of causal links between the current success of GPU technology and its intricate early relationship with the O&G sector. This article lays the groundwork for defining the nature of the relationship between ICT and O&G, which predates the current hype surrounding generative AI. We provide the analytical elements needed to begin estimating the added emissions from the digitalisation of O&G.

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arXiv2025

Purer than pure: how purity reshapes the upstream materiality of the semiconductor industry

Growing attention is given to the environmental impacts of the digital sector, exacerbated by the increase of digital products and services in our globalized societies. The materiality of the digital sector is often presented through the environmental impacts of mining activities to point out that digitization does not mean dematerialization. Despite its importance, such a narrative is often restricted to a few minerals (e.g., cobalt, lithium) that have become the symbols of extractive industries. In this paper, we further explore the materiality of the digital sector with an approach based on the diversity of elements and their purity requirements in the semiconductor industry. Semiconductors are responsible for manufacturing the key building blocks of the digital sector, i.e., microchips. Given that the need for ultra-high purity materials is very specific to the semiconductor industry, a few companies around the world have been studied, revealing new critical actors in complex supply chains. This highlights strong dependencies towards other industrial sectors with mass production and the need for a deeper investigation of interactions with the chemical industry, complementary to the mining industry.

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arXiv2024

The belief in Moore's Law is undermining ICT climate action

The growth of semiconductor technology is unprecedented, with profound transformational consequences for society. This includes feeding an over-reliance on digital solutions to systemic problems such as climate change ('techno-solutionism'). Such technologies come at a cost: environmental, social and material. We unpack topics arising from "The True Cost of ICT: From Materiality to Techno-Solutionism (TCICT)", a workshop held at the International ICT for Sustainability (ICT4S) conference 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden -- exploring, as a matter of global climate injustice, the drivers and material dependencies of these technologies. We point to the importance of addressing ICT's impacts as a system, rather than purely in terms of efficiency and energy use. We conclude by calling to build a community of like-minded and critical colleagues to address the intersectional climate impacts of the semiconductor industry and the techno-solutionism it embodies.

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arXiv2024

The Paradox of Industrial Involvement in Engineering Higher Education

This paper discusses the importance of reflective and socially conscious education in engineering schools, particularly within the EE/CS sector. While most engineering disciplines have historically aligned themselves with the demands of the technology industry, the lack of critical examination of industry practices and their impact on justice, equality, and sustainability is self-evident. Today, the for-profit engineering/technology companies, some of which are among the largest in the world, also shape the narrative of engineering education and research in universities. As engineering graduates form the largest cohorts within STEM disciplines in Western countries, they become future professionals who will work, lead, or even establish companies in this industry. Unfortunately, the curriculum within engineering education often lacks a deep understanding of social realities, an essential component of a comprehensive university education. Here we establish this unusual connection with the industry that has driven engineering higher education for several decades and its obvious negative impacts to society. We analyse this nexus and highlight the need for engineering schools to hold a more critical viewpoint. Given the wealth and power of modern technology companies, particularly in the ICT domain, questioning their techno-solutionism narrative is essential within the institutes of higher education.

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arXiv2023

Challenging Techno-Solutionism: The Role of ICT Innovation and the Value of Technological Growth

Innovation in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become one of the key economic drivers of our technology-dependent world. Digital devices/systems have become so pervasive that it is hard to imagine new technology developments that are not totally or partially influenced by ICT innovations. Furthermore, the pace of innovation in ICT sector over the last few decades has been unprecedented in human history. In this paper, we argue that the ICT innovation paradigm has crucially shaped collective expectations and imagination about what technology more broadly can actually deliver, particularly for a more sustainable and equitable world. These expectations have often crystalised into a widespread acceptance, among general public and policy makers, of techno-solutionism. We emphasise the role of electronic microchips in deriving relentless innovation and its impacts. We identify the many impacts of this innovation cycle into three different categories: embodied, induced and implied impact.

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arXiv2021

An FPGA Implementation of Convolutional Spiking Neural Networks for Radioisotope Identification

This paper details the FPGA implementation methodology for Convolutional Spiking Neural Networks (CSNN) and applies this methodology to low-power radioisotope identification using high-resolution data. Power consumption of 75 mW has been achieved on an FPGA implementation of a CSNN, with an inference accuracy of 90.62% on a synthetic dataset. The chip validation method is presented. Prototyping was accelerated by evaluating SNN parameters using SpiNNaker neuromorphic platform.

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arXiv2020

Spiking Neural Network Based Low-Power Radioisotope Identification using FPGA

this paper presents a detailed methodology of a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) based low-power design for radioisotope identification. A low power cost of 72 mW has been achieved on FPGA with the inference accuracy of 100% at 10 cm test distance and 97% at 25 cm. The design verification and chip validation methods are presented. It also discusses SNN simulation on SpiNNaker for rapid prototyping and various considerations specific to the application such as test distance, integration time, and SNN hyperparameter selections.

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arXiv2020

Event-based Signal Processing for Radioisotope Identification

This paper identifies the problem of unnecessary high power overhead of the conventional frame-based radioisotope identification process and proposes an event-based signal processing process to address the problem established. It also presents the design flow of the neuromorphic processor.

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