Damian Andres Sabatini

In a context where recent artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms are being deployed to interpret vast amounts of data generated by Earth-observing satellites—a field known as Earth Observation (EO)—this project explores how AI is shaping new ways of seeing the Earth. The history of Earth visualization has been deeply entwined with sociopolitical processes, particularly through cartographic practices that function as technologies of spatial rationalization. These practices have often supported capitalist logics and tended to obscure local and diverse understandings of space. The growing use of AI to automate the interpretation of satellite imagery has raised critical questions about its role in reproducing or disrupting these hegemonic spatial imaginaries. In response, EO centers have increasingly called upon anthropologists to help unpack the tensions arising from the imposition of algorithmically-driven visions of the world (citation needed). Recognizing that EO operates across a global landscape of institutions situated within three interrelated spheres—governmental, academic, and commercial—this study proposes ethnographic fieldwork within key sites representing each domain: ESRIN (governmental), the UCL Observatory (academic), and PLANET/ESRI (commercial).