Reframing "AI for Climate"
AI is often pitched as a climate solution, optimizing energy and accelerating decarbonization. In reality, claims of sustainability obscure the deep ties between tech, fossil fuels, and the state. Alix talks with Naomi Klein to reframe “AI for climate” and highlight hyperlocal, community-driven resistance to these extractive systems.
NAOMI KLEIN – AI FOR CLIMATE
Naomi Klein is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of nine critically acclaimed books published in over 35 languages. She is University of British Columbia Professor of Climate Justice and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice.
In this interview, Klein argues that the current “arms race” model for large scale AI, driven by unchecked compute demands and breakneck corporate competition, is fundamentally unsustainable and incompatible with climate goals. Instead, the resource intensity of the “bigger is better” AI paradigm is proving to be a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry, particularly as renewable markets begin to emerge.
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"The only governing principle of it is compute — more and more and more and more. It's a really kind of brute force way of seeing the world, and to have so many titans fighting for this one prize at the same time is the most unimaginably wasteful use of resources."