Between Bits and Biodiversity: The AI Dilemma in the Era of Sustainability

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its growing presence in various sectors—from industry and healthcare to education and digital services—has undeniably changed the way we live, work, and learn. Its potential to analyse large amounts of data, optimise processes, and develop innovative solutions has a significant impact on a number of areas that are crucial to sustainability. AI is being used to monitor ecosystems, predict climate change, and optimise the use of natural resources; it is helping to improve healthcare, education, and financial inclusion; and it is driving energy efficiency, precision agriculture, and the circular economy. Notwithstanding the potential of AI to significantly accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it also has significant environmental implications that must not be overlooked. The transition to a world driven by AI solutions must be accompanied by careful consideration of how to reconcile technological progress with the protection of the planet.

The challenges are complex and require a critical eye that is supported by rigorous data and analyses. For example, the development of large-scale language models requires significant computing and power resources. The computing power needed to sustain AI growth doubles approximately every 100 days. Training a model like the Pre-trained Generative Transformer 3 (or GPT-3) is estimated to use 1,300 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 130 U.S. homes (WEF, 2024). However, training GPT-4 is estimated to have used 50 times more energy (WEF, 2024). In addition to electricity, water is also an important resource: it is assumed that around half a litre of water is required for a single interaction with a language model, which corresponds to 25–50 questions. The first GPT-3 training, for example, used around 700,000 litres of water (Georges et al., 2023).

This reality raises the following concerns: How can we ensure that the expansion of AI does not become incompatible with the reduction in carbon footprints, preservation of ecosystems, and fair access to natural resources? How does the growing demand for energy-intensive data centres and specialised infrastructure affect not only the environment, but also digital sovereignty, social inclusion, and global economic dynamics? Although some scientific research is beginning to emerge (Flucker et al., 2018; Notley, 2019; Dhar, 2020; Kaack et al., 2024; An et al., 2023; George et al., 2023; Gritsenko et al., 2024), it is still scant.

This Special Issue invites researchers, academics, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders in the technology ecosystem to submit original articles and empirical or theoretical research papers that address, among others, the following topics:

• Environmental governance models for AI: Regulatory, ethical, and technical mechanisms to monitor and reduce the consumption of energy, water, and other resources to ensure a sustainable path towards the SDGs.
• Sustainable design practises in AI: Optimisation strategies for models and algorithms, use of renewable energy, green cloud computing solutions, and highly energy-efficient system architectures.
• Technological practises that ensure the development of unbiased algorithms that reduce the bias of algorithms on the one hand and minimise the unintended consequences of the use of AI on the other.
• Critical reflections on digital culture and the systemic impact of AI: Interdisciplinary approaches that explore the tensions between technological progress, economic pressures, and social and environmental responsibility.

This Special Issue is expected to contribute to the debate on the role of AI in the sustainable future of the planet, fostering an integrative vision that makes it possible to align technological innovation with the fundamental principles of environmental and social sustainability. Our objective is to inspire practical solutions, informed policies, and new lines of research that allow us to build a world where AI and sustainability advance in harmony, facing the complexity of 21st century challenges and promoting the balance between machine "intelligence" and the resilience of our global ecosystem.

References

Notley, T. (2019). The environmental costs of the global digital economy in Asia and the urgent need for better policy. Media International Australia, 173(1), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X19844022.

Kaack, L.H., Donti, P.L., Strubell, E. et al. (2022). Aligning artificial intelligence with climate change mitigation. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 518–527. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01377-7.

An, J.; Ding, D.; Lin, C. (2023). ChatGPT: Tackle the growing carbon footprint of generative AI. Nature, 615(7953), 586–586.

Dhar, P. (2020). The carbon impact of artificial intelligence. Nature Machine Intelligence, 2, 423–425. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-020-0219-9.

GREENPEACE. Oil in the Cloud: How Tech Companies are Helping Big Oil Profit from Climate Destruction. GREENPEACE Reports, 19 maio 2020. Disponível em: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/reports/oil-in-the-cloud/.

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY. (2022). Data Centres and Data Transmission Networks. IEA, Paris. https://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks.

Gritsenko, D., Aaen, J., & Flyvbjerg, B. (2024). Rethinking digitalization and climate: Don’t predict, mitigate. npj Clim. Action 3, 43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00127-z.

Flucker, S., Tozer, R., & Whitehead, B. Data centre sustainability–Beyond energy efficiency. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 2018, 39(2), 173–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624417753022.

Dr. Micaela Moreira Pinho
Prof. Dr. Fernando Moreira
Dr. Fátima Leal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• artificial intelligence
• sustainable development
• sustainable development goals
• data centres
• environmental impact
• water footprint
• energy footprint
• resource management