How (not) to communicate about the environmental implications and impacts of AI technologies

This article reviews environmentally-oriented publications from 2022-2024 related to the rise of AI technologies in order to discuss the burden AI is considered to exert on the climate and energy resources. Given the scarcity of texts that discuss it, the topic could be seen as an example of agenda cutting or discursive silencing at play. Such a review helps to determine how the recommendations by environmental experts are being accommodated to the needs of different publics and policy-makers, based on the interdisciplinary research that maps the ways to use AI responsibly and sustainably and regulate the industry to keep its environmental impact in check. Finally, it lists examples of the ways in which AI technologies can help in the mitigation, adaptation and protection from climate changes and energy crises. The findings demonstrate that while there are some promising uses of AI to diminish the environmental burden and to help in climate change adaptation, the problem of AI energy demands and emissions is far from solved, and environmental communicators should take this issue up.