Stephanie Hankey is a tech critic and social entrepreneur focusing on technology and climate. She is the co-founder and co-director of Tactical Tech and currently leads its workstream on technology and climate. She has 25 years of experience working globally, exploring the social, political, and environmental impacts of digital technologies.
As a senior strategic advisor, she has focused on the intersection between environmental and digital transformations worldwide, serving as a strategic consultant for organizations like the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the EU New European Bauhaus, the Design Council, the OSCE, and as a design ethics advisor to Google. With a background in technology design, Stephanie holds degrees in History of Design and Computer-Related Design from Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal College of Art, London. She was a Dual Professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, a member of the European Expert Panel on Digitalisation for Sustainability, was awarded an Ashoka Fellowship for social entrepreneurs, and a Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University.
She has an extensive portfolio of publications, particularly focused on technology, social and political issues, including the edited volume: The Replaybook: A Field Guide to the Information and Climate Crisis. She is currently working on a book on Climate and AI with Adrienne Russell, forthcoming in 2026. In 2025, she was a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center resident focusing on critical approaches to Climate and AI.
[Article] The latest article for Project Syndicate: Information Pollution Is Undermining Climate Progress
How is climate action being derailed by an increasingly toxic information ecosystem? This must-read piece by Lili Fuhr (CIEL) and Stephanie Hankey (Tactical Tech) examines how information pollution, primarily driven by Big Tech business models, is quietly undermining meaningful climate action and what can be done about it. Read the article here.
[Talk]Time to be "down to earth" regarding tech’s role in climate action
Digital technologies shape how society discusses and responds to climate crises. A complex system of influence emerges as various actors use data-driven technologies to shape information flows, ultimately affecting opinions and climate action. How does this system work? How can people engage in and contribute to conversations about this global challenge that impacts daily life? Watch Tactical Tech’s co-founder, Stephanie Hankey, speak on this topic at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Loeb Fellowship Symposium. Watch the video
[Talk] How does digital influence shape and slow down climate action—and what can we do about it?
Misinformation, corporate influence, attacks on activists, and narratives that hinder climate action were among the 10 key discussions at the Digital Influence and Climate Friction Gathering 2024. Organized by Tactical Tech’s Influence Industry project with support from the Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation, the event brought together 35 researchers, journalists, artists, community organizers, and communications professionals from 14 countries. Together, they examined how digital influence tactics are used to delay climate action and explored cross-disciplinary collaboration strategies to counter them. Read the full recap about the event