Localized Imaginaries, Global Assets: Sociotechnical Imaginaries and the Assetization of Data Centers in Singapore

Paper Title

Localized Imaginaries, Global Assets: Sociotechnical Imaginaries and the Assetization of Data Centers in Singapore

Publication Info

• Topic area: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the financialization of data center infrastructure in Singapore
• Keywords: Sociotechnical imaginaries, data centers, Singapore, assetization, sustainability, digital economy, postcolonial HCI, infrastructure, labor, global competitiveness

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Dominant sociotechnical imaginaries for data centers emphasize temperate climates, abundant resources, and vast spaces, which do not align with Singapore’s tropical, land-scarce, and resource-constrained context. Existing frameworks fail to explain how data centers thrive in such environments.
• Significance: Understanding how Singapore legitimizes its data center expansion offers insights into how resource-constrained nations can redefine infrastructural limitations and shape global digital economies.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies on sociotechnical imaginaries have focused on Western contexts, specific technologies, or grassroots counter-imaginaries. This paper extends the scope by examining state-led imaginaries in Singapore, a postcolonial, resource-scarce nation, and their role in reconfiguring data centers as assets.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Critical discourse analysis (CDA) of 99 sources, including government policy briefs, industry press releases, and national media, to identify sociotechnical imaginaries that justify data center proliferation in Singapore.
• Novelty:
  1. Identifies four sociotechnical imaginaries that redefine Singapore’s constraints as opportunities for data center growth.
  2. Explores how these imaginaries transform data centers into financialized assets.
  3. Examines the implications of these imaginaries for labor and workforce development in Singapore.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted CDA using a corpus of 99 English-language sources (2013–2025).
  • Iterative coding process to identify axial codes and group them into four dominant sociotechnical imaginaries.
  • Focused on themes of sustainability, leadership, labor, and resource constraints.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Four sociotechnical imaginaries identified:
    1. Data centers as strategic resources that overcome Singapore’s resource constraints.
    2. Data centers as engines for regional and global digital leadership.
    3. Sustainability as a competitive differentiator for data centers.
    4. Data centers as drivers for a high-skilled workforce.
  • Sustainability is framed as both necessary and profitable, with energy efficiency as the dominant focus.
  • Labor discourse emphasizes upskilling but reveals inequities in access and outcomes.
• Advantage over baselines: Challenges dominant Western-centric imaginaries of data centers by showing how Singapore redefines constraints as assets, positioning itself as a global leader in sustainable digital infrastructure.
• Experiments / evaluation: Analysis of 99 sources from government, industry, and media, focusing on recurring patterns and discursive strategies.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Findings are specific to Singapore and may not generalize to other Southeast Asian contexts.
  • Focus on elite discourse excludes grassroots perspectives and non-English language sources.
  • Future work could compare data center imaginaries across multiple national contexts and examine contestations within Singapore.

Summary

This paper analyzes how Singapore, a resource-scarce, tropical city-state, legitimizes its position as a global data center hub through four sociotechnical imaginaries: data centers as strategic resources, engines of digital leadership, sustainability differentiators, and drivers of a high-skilled workforce. By reframing constraints as opportunities, these imaginaries transform data centers into financialized assets and align them with national and global economic goals. The study highlights the interplay between sustainability, labor, and financialization in shaping data center infrastructure, offering insights for HCI and infrastructure studies in resource-constrained contexts.