The latest political theatre unfolding in North America would be comical if it weren’t so concerning. Google has found itself in hot water after changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for US users, prompting legal action from Mexico against the tech giant.

The whole situation perfectly encapsulates the bizarre intersection of technology, politics, and nationalism that we’re living through. What’s particularly frustrating is how a private company like Google chose to implement this change without any real mandate - they simply rolled over in apparent appeasement to the current US administration.

The tech world’s insatiable appetite for rare earth metals is steering us toward a disturbing new era of resource colonialism. Recent discussions about Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland have exposed an uncomfortable truth: our digital future might be built on the same exploitative foundation as our industrial past.

Working in tech, I’ve witnessed firsthand how rapidly advancing AI technologies demand increasingly exotic materials. While the promise of artificial intelligence is exciting, the environmental and geopolitical costs are rarely discussed in our dev meetings or stand-ups. The recent revelation about plans for a $500 billion AI complex brings this issue into sharp focus.