Event Date: February 24, 2026 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Location: FSS 4004, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Presented by CIPS, the International Political Economy Network (IPEN) and the Institute of the Environment

This talk examines how contemporary AI systems sit at the center of a rapidly evolving international political economy defined by extractive infrastructures, data processing and labour practices. It will trace the material resource economy underpinning AI, from energy supply chains to the water-intensive data centers that both shape new dependencies and entrench established power dynamics. It will then turn to the platform economy and its role in amplifying climate disinformation, highlighting how deregulated digital markets undermine democratic climate action across borders. Finally, it explore the emerging politics of climate governance in an era where environmental policy and computational power are increasingly intertwined. By integrating these domains, the talk argues that tech governance is climate action, and that confronting the climate crisis will require addressing both the material and informational ecosystem of AI.

Speaker:

Sonja Solomun is an Assistant Professor (Research) at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and Deputy Director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy. Her work examines tech policy and the environmental impacts of AI and digital systems. She has published in leading academic outlets including the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology and First Monday. Sonja is a Fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology in Washington, DC, a Research Affiliate at Data & Society and at the Climate Social Science Network at Brown University, and is the Canadian representative to the Forum on Information & Democracy’s Observatory. Her research has been featured in Nature, The Financial Times, BBC News, MIT Technology Review, Wired, The Globe & Mail, CTV and CBC News, among others.

Chair:

Andrew Heffernan holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ottawa where he is an adjunct professor specializing in International Relations and comparative politics. He is also Climate Associate at the Information Integrity Lab, Rapporteur for the Forum on Information and Democracy, and a regular contributor to the Centre for International Governance Innovation where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship. Andrew is active in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and is also has served as President of ISA-Canada and of the African Studies Association’s Emerging Scholar Network.