© 2025 AIxDesign
© 2025 AIxDesign
© 2025 AIxDesign
r00ts
r00ts
Introduction
Our internet doesn't live "in the cloud" (wtf does that even mean?). It lives in real places with real consequences. r00ts traces your internet use to actual data centers around the world, connecting you to the droughts, energy battles, and community resistance happening there. Because your internet has neighbors, and they're probably pissed.
Timeline
January 2026 – Present
Team
Project Lead:
Ploipailin Flynn
Creative Lead:
Nadia Piet
Technology Lead:
Arran Lyon
Communications Lead:
Elena Zaghis
Graphic Designer:
Ana Marques
Fundraising:
Sofia Vieira
Funding
Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
Introduction
Our internet doesn't live "in the cloud" (wtf does that even mean?). It lives in real places with real consequences. r00ts traces your internet use to actual data centers around the world, connecting you to the droughts, energy battles, and community resistance happening there. Because your internet has neighbors, and they're probably pissed.
Timeline
January 2026 – Present
Team
Project Lead:
Ploipailin Flynn
Creative Lead:
Nadia Piet
Technology Lead:
Arran Lyon
Communications Lead:
Elena Zaghis
Graphic Designer:
Ana Marques
Fundraising:
Sofia Vieira
Funding
Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
Why it matters
The story of "the cloud" makes the internet sound weightless, ephemeral, inconsequential.
It makes us think our digital lives float somewhere, nowhere near the ground. But every TikTok scroll, every ChatGPT prompt, every Netflix binge runs through actual data centers that gulp water, strain energy grids, and ignite conflict over land and resources. This is not new. There is a ton of academic research, investigative journalism, and creative projects that document the environmental impact of digital infrastructures. But it's trapped in PDFs nobody reads, disconnected from our everyday digital actions. Meanwhile, Big Tech gets away with vague green pledges while communities in Virginia face droughts, Ireland’s energy grid buckles under the weight of data centers, and Uruguayan locals fight water battles with Google. The information is out there, but it's not accessible when you need it. r00ts is our attempt at "grounding the cloud". We're making it simple to see the real-world impact of your digital life, turning abstract debates into concrete ideas anyone can grasp.
Dig into the Project Vault
How we did it
We are building r00ts like we wish Big Tech would build: transparent, community-first, and intentionally small. - Transparent: In AIxDESIGN fashion, we’re working in the open, involving our community at every step of the process, sharing full documentation and code. - Community-first: We’re co-designing a tool that truly serves communities rather than imposing solutions – a core principle of regenerative digital culture. - Small: Rather than optimizing for endless growth, we’re prioritizing lightweight code architecture, minimal server requirements, and graceful degradation. And, yes, we're using digital infrastructure to critique digital infrastructure. The tool itself has an environmental footprint. Rather than pretending otherwise, we’re documenting our own resource use to make the r00ts’ cost visible alongside the impacts it reveals. Meta-transparency as both accountability and pedagogy.
