“Towards a Genealogy of the internet’s backbone” in AfroGrids: Cosmology of Internet Infrastructure, Three Visions for Bridging the Digital Divide, eds. Esther Mwema
Published Online, Funded by Mozilla Green Screen Coalition Fund
The ‘Cosmology of Internet Infrastructure' presents, in three chapters, imagery on society’s
belief in the evolution of the (digital) world. The community-centred artwork and research by
Esther Mwema connects increased ownership of internet infrastructure by big tech companies
to (digital) colonialism, unveiling hidden systems of power in (digital) society. The art
component of the project features three cosmologies – past-present, transitory and future –
illustrating visions of bridging the digital divide based on the articles written by three multi-faceted practitioners: Elinor Arden, Emsie Erastus, and Raymundo Vásquez Ruiz.
The past-present cosmology written by Elinor Arden reflects the colonial logic around
internet infrastructure that shapes our current internet infrastructure landscape from
2024 and backwards to the era after the transatlantic slave trade.
The transitory cosmology written by Raymundo Vásquez Ruiz challenges engineers
working within a digital ecosystem that is trying to right the wrongs of the past by
adopting the concept of green technologies, along with its fallacies and potential.
The future cosmology by Emsie Erastus plants us in a digital ecosystem rooted in
afro-feminist and decolonial logic, condemning the idolatry of big tech and shining a
light on possible equitable futures, with tangible examples on how to get them.
The five chapters end with a visioning of what the collective wants in a (digital) universe of
competing cosmologies.
Afro-Grids is a creative storytelling project that uses African folklore as a methodology to deconstruct and explore the relationship between big tech’s ownership of African internet infrastructure and digital colonialism. The project marries decolonial scholarship and imaginative storytelling to reveal the reality of undersea internet cables throughout the African continent.
belief in the evolution of the (digital) world. The community-centred artwork and research by
Esther Mwema connects increased ownership of internet infrastructure by big tech companies
to (digital) colonialism, unveiling hidden systems of power in (digital) society. The art
component of the project features three cosmologies – past-present, transitory and future –
illustrating visions of bridging the digital divide based on the articles written by three multi-faceted practitioners: Elinor Arden, Emsie Erastus, and Raymundo Vásquez Ruiz.
The past-present cosmology written by Elinor Arden reflects the colonial logic around
internet infrastructure that shapes our current internet infrastructure landscape from
2024 and backwards to the era after the transatlantic slave trade.
The transitory cosmology written by Raymundo Vásquez Ruiz challenges engineers
working within a digital ecosystem that is trying to right the wrongs of the past by
adopting the concept of green technologies, along with its fallacies and potential.
The future cosmology by Emsie Erastus plants us in a digital ecosystem rooted in
afro-feminist and decolonial logic, condemning the idolatry of big tech and shining a
light on possible equitable futures, with tangible examples on how to get them.
The five chapters end with a visioning of what the collective wants in a (digital) universe of
competing cosmologies.
Afro-Grids is a creative storytelling project that uses African folklore as a methodology to deconstruct and explore the relationship between big tech’s ownership of African internet infrastructure and digital colonialism. The project marries decolonial scholarship and imaginative storytelling to reveal the reality of undersea internet cables throughout the African continent.
