Sustainability standards and ratings do not generate enough information for businesses to understand their environmental impacts across scales and create mitigation plans to avoid further transgression of planetary boundaries.
While much of the AI debate focuses on its economic potential, its expanding physical footprint tells a different story. The machines driving this revolution depend on a resource far older – and far more contested – than data or electricity.
Since the release of ChatGPT, the world has seen a surge in investment and use of artificial intelligence. The social and economic impacts of this boom have provoked reactions, but the environmental costs have received far less attention.