“I think AI will probably, like, most likely, sort of lead to the end of the world,” Sam Altman said in 2015, the year he co-founded Open AI, the artificial intelligence company that made him a billionaire. But not to worry, he added: “in the meantime, there will be great companies created with serious machine learning.”
As if to confirm Altman’s dystopian prediction, recent scientific research has documented that AI chatbots increasingly lie, cheat, and disregard direct instructions from humans. That’s bad enough when the issue is whether emails should be deleted, it’s another thing entirely when the future of humanity is at stake. In simulated war games, AI ordered nuclear strikes in 95 cases out of 100, researchers at Kings College London found.
Bill Gates has said that AI “will make it easier to fight climate change,” but more and more evidence suggests that AI actually makes it harder. “Our investigations have documented that Big Tech is now increasingly embracing the climate crisis denial rhetoric of Big Oil,” Geoff Dembicki, the global managing editor of DeSmog told Covering Climate Now. Scientific American has reported that Elon Musk’s AI chatbot has been spreading climate denial.
“Targeted AI has become a key tool in spreading climate change disinformation,” observes a report by the NGO Forum On Information Democracy. “AI algorithms can help craft highly personalized messages … [that are] more persuasive and [likelier to be] shared.” AI-driven microtargeting affects 34% of social media users globally, enabling “disinformation campaigns to outpace traditional countermeasures such as fact-checking or public rebuttals. … As a result, even authentic reporting can be misinterpreted or dismissed, contributing to public confusion, skepticism, and apathy.”
Then there’s the mindboggling amounts of electricity and water AI demands — no small concern, when rapidly phasing out fossil fuels is imperative to avoid climate breakdown. “A single AI-focused data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 households,” the International Energy Agency has determined and “the largest ones under development are expected to use 20 times as much.” Much of that electricity has come from burning gas, further overheating the planet. Heat released by the data centers’ processes also “create ‘heat islands,’ warming the land around them by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit, and making life hotter for up to 340 million people,” concluded a new study summarized by CNN. Meanwhile, even as rising global temperatures are increasing the frequency and severity of drought, more than two-thirds of the thousands of data centers being built in the US have been in water-scarce regions, where each center can consume 300,000 gallons of water a day, enough to supply 1,000 households.
No wonder the AI boom is encountering fierce grassroots resistance across the US, from across the political spectrum — left to right, rural, urban, and suburban. For journalists, the breadth of that backlash makes AI’s effects on the planet much more than a tech or even a climate story. It should now be on the radar of newsrooms everywhere. A new Quinnipiac poll found that Americans by a 3-to-1 margin (65% to 24%) oppose having an AI data center built in their community. Their leading concern is skyrocketing electric bills. Indeed, bills for households in the vicinity of a data center have gone up as much as 267% in the last five years, Bloomberg reported.
Like fossil fuel executives, AI titans have long insisted that their technology is inevitable. That, too, seems not to be true. Some 100 communities across 14 states have imposed moratoria on building data centers. Last week, US senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced legislation calling for a six-month nationwide moratorium to buy time to evaluate AI’s impacts on environmental, labor, and other issues, including AI’s ability to “create Big Brother type surveillance” of citizens exercising their First Amendment right to protest, Ocasio-Cortez said.
The AI boom, if it continues, is shaping up as a bust for climate survival. A few days after Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduced their bill, The New York Times reported that the AI industry, aided by former Trump adviser Taylor Budowich, plans to spend “at least $100 million dollars” to make sure the midterm elections go its way in November. Perhaps AI is not so inevitable after all?
From Us
WATCH: “Virtually Impossible” Heat & the Future of the American West. CCNow and Climate Central hosted a press briefing about the heatwave that blanketed the American West in March, its connections with climate change, and what it means for the region’s future.
SEJ bound? Join CCNow and Solutions Journalism Network for a workshop on Wednesday, April 15. For more details, look on the schedule for “Workshop 3 — Mapping The Future of Climate Journalism,” from 1–4pm US Central Time. CCNow and Sentient will also co-host a happy hour on Friday, April 17, from 5:45–8pm, at Vintage Bar, one block from the conference venue. Join us!
Noteworthy Stories
India’s climate plan. A year past the deadline, India’s cabinet has approved a new climate plan for submission to the UN. The plan commits India to source 60% of its electricity-generating capacity from renewables by 2035 and fortify carbon sinks, like forests, to draw down more carbon dioxide. By Aruna Chandrasekhar for Carbon Brief…
Why the delay? France has condemned efforts by Saudi Arabia and India to delay release of the next UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Countries supporting an on-time release want the report published before a “global stock take” scheduled to occur at the 2028 UN climate summit (which, perhaps ironically, India is driving to host). Published every five to seven years, the IPCC reports capture the state of global climate change. From Le Monde with AFP reporting…
Iran and the case for renewables. The energy crisis sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran exposes the fragility of a global economy dependent on fossil fuels. Countries like Spain and Portugal, which generate much of their energy using renewables, have been comparatively insulated from global price shocks. By Nehal Johri for Deutsche Welle…
Politicizing relief. Since Trump’s return to office, only 23% of disaster relief requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency made by Democratic-led states have been approved by his administration — compared to 89% approval of requests made by Republican-led states. By Thomas Frank for Politico’s E&E News…
Christianity on climate. Climate scientist and Evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe talks with independent journalist Chase Cain about climate sentiments among Christians in the US, describing environmentalism as consistent with Biblical teachings and humanity’s obligation to take car of “God’s creation.” Watch (and subscribe!) on Cain’s YouTube channel…
Quote of the Week
“It’s a situation so serious that even I can’t sleep. South Korea needs to transition to renewable energy quickly. If we rely on fossil energy, the future will be extremely risky.”
– South Korean president Lee Jae Myung about the global energy crisis
Resources & Events
RSVP: Data Journalism: Reporting Where Climate and Health Meet. Climate Central and SciLine are co-hosting a webinar on Tuesday, April 7, at 1pm US Eastern Time (17:00h UTC), to teach journalists how to report on the intersection of climate and health, using data tools to deepen reporting. Learn more and RSVP.
RSVP: Communicating Climate Solutions. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication is hosting a webinar for journalists on Thursday, April 9, at 12pm US Eastern Time (16:00h UTC), about how to effectively engage audiences, the vast majority of whom are alarmed about climate change, with climate solutions stories. Learn more and RSVP.
Snow drought. Climate Central has published new data and graphics showing that this winter’s record snow drought is limiting water supplies in the American West and setting the stage for a more severe wildfire season. Learn more and download.
Regional energy picture. Canary Media offers four regional newsletters to keep you up to date on the latest energy stories from different regions of the US. Sign up.
ICYMI: State of the Global Climate report. The World Meteorological Organization published its latest report assessing the state of the climate last week, which included findings that Earth’s climate is out of balance and that 2015–2025 were the 11 hottest years on record. Read the press release.
Jobs, Etc.
Jobs. CNN is hiring several weather-related positions, including Senior Photo Editor, Senior Editor (Features), a Digital Meteorologist, Weekends, and a Weekend Editor (hybrid; multiple locations). NOTUS is hiring a Climate and Energy Reporter (Washington, D.C. area, preferred). Nexstar Media Group is hiring a Morning Meteorologist (Colorado Springs, Colo.). MPR News is hiring a Chief Meteorologist (Saint Paul, Minn.).
Fellowships. The Committee to Protect Journalists is accepting applications for its Climate Change and Press Freedom Fellowship; apply by April 12.The International Women’s Media Foundation is accepting applications for its 2027 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship; apply by April 19. NYU Stern School of Business is accepting applications for its Climate Economics Journalism Fellowship; apply by April 20. Sentient is recruiting a Student Editorial Fellow; apply by May 29 (remote).
Grants. The Journalismfund Europe is accepting proposals for its Professional Development for Environmental Journalism. The Pulitzer Center is accepting proposals for its Impact Seed Fund to support educational and engagement initiatives in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.