Digital extractivism(s) and digitally-facilitated extractivism(s): Towards conceptual expansion and clarity

The rapid proliferation of digital technologies has increased interest in extractivism beyond traditional resource sectors. This article provides a review of the Anglophone literature on digital extractivism(s) and advances a new term – digitally-facilitated extractivism(s) – to improve conceptual clarity. It traces the expansion of extractivism from its roots in large-scale mineral and hydrocarbon exploitation to data, finance and ‘green’ energy systems. It argues that digital extractivism applies only when inherently digital resources – such as personal data or cryptocurrencies – can be extracted at an intensity and scale to be extractivism through digital technologies. The article also addresses misuses of the term digital extractivism, and the misclassification of any form of extractivism that involves digital technologies as digital extractivism. To address the issue of misclassification, the article introduces digitally-facilitated extractivism(s) to describe cases where digital systems mediate or exacerbate existing extractivisms without transforming them into digital extractivisms. Examples include fintech-enabled financial extractivism and green extractivisms using sensors, AI and blockchain technology. The article concludes by identifying emerging avenues of research and calls for more nuanced analyses of how digital infrastructures reshape socioecological relations and extraction frontiers.