BlackRock: funding death by algorithm
BlackRock is the world’s largest investment asset manager. It’s using the immense power of its algorithms and wealth to fund three crimes against life and humanity: AI, fossil fuels, war and genocide. BlackRock is crushing everything and everyone.
Join our Earth Day protest, Edinburgh, 22 October
Join our protest against BlackRock in Edinburgh on Earth Day, Wednes 22 October.
Why BlackRock?
BlackRock, Inc. is the world’s largest investment asset manager – its 11.6 trillion dollar assets under management are roughly worth the same as the ten wealthiest countries in the world.
BlackRock has been called the world’s largest shadow bank by The Economist. It’s too powerful for governments, too big to fail, too big to regulate. Too embedded in the UK government and UK critical infrastructure.
Crime 1: BlackRock funding fossil fuels
BlackRock is a top shareholder in major fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.
BlackRock is the second largest institutional investor in fossil fuels overall with $400 billion worth of investments in the industry.
BlackRock are greenwashing: investment funds the company was calling ‘sustainable’ really weren’t, as they have poured over a billion into fossil fuel companies including Shell and BP.
References
We’re taking action against investment company BlackRock for greenwashing
BlackRock accused of contributing to climate and human rights abuses
Crime 2: BlackRock funding war and genocide
10m British pensions at BlackRock ‘helped’ Putin’s invasion of Ukraine via £1bn in oil energy dividends.
BlackRock invests hugely in arms companies directly aiding the Gazan genocide such as Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon. A UN report in July exposed BlackRock’s complicity in funding arms, surveillance and energy companies directly aiding the Israeli governments assault on the Palestinians. The report highlights BlackRock’s part in a “joint criminal enterprise” to profit from genocide.
UN report lists companies complicit in Israel’s genocide: Who are they?
Crime 3: BlackRock funding AI murder
BlackRock operates a major Innovation Hub (iHub) and AI Lab in Edinburgh, one of its few global AI centers outside the US, focused on integrating artificial intelligence into its Aladdin investment platform and financial technology solutions.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is listed as the second largest institutional investor in Palantir. Lethal applications of Palantir’s AI technology includes its role in Israel’s campaign of mass slaughter in Gaza and in aiding ICE in locating subjects for deportation.
Aladdin is a technology platform developed and operated by BlackRock – an algorithmic decision maker – used by the other two biggest ‘asset managers’ Vanguard and State Street, and at least 200 other major financial institutions that include banks like Barclays and JP Morgan. Aladdin is the algorithmic engine of the entire financial system and Blackrock owns that engine. Their algorithms have captured finance and are destroying life on earth.
BlackRock is investing billions in hyperscale data centre infrastructure. This is driven by the surging energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.
AI is:
- driving massive massive energy consumption
- increasing water usage for data centre cooling
- generating e-waste with hazardous substances
- using rare earth elements mined in environmentally destructive ways
- having a massive social impact on society and individuals
AI has an environmental problem. Here’s what the world can do about that.
In Scotland: Data Centres in the Scottish Planning system will double Scotland’s energy demands