In recent years, as people have sought to alleviate the stress of their busy lives, we have seen a significant increase in AI use and presence. But there is also a large gap in knowledge about AI and other new technologies, how they work, and how they are affecting our environment. Although many new technological innovations have been beneficial for the augmentation of society, they have also been extremely harmful to our global water quality, especially in war zones, and to people in underdeveloped countries whose labor is exploited to make modern technology.
AI, Consumption & Waste
The presence of AI in daily life has only continued to increase. People are using AI services and chatbots for grocery lists, text responses and emails, homework help, and cures to boredom. But what are the consequences of this increase in convenience?
In 2025, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote an article, “Explained: Generative AI’s Environmental Impact,” exploring how AI is increasing demand for water and energy. Generative AI models are trained using data centers (buildings with servers, data storage drives, network equipment, etc.). According to Harvard professor Francesca Dominici, this training requires giant amounts of electricity, with data centers now accounting for 4% of the U.S.’s electricity use, leading to increased carbon dioxide emissions. And this energy use continues after the initial training. Each question asked of ChatGPT consumes 5 times more electricity than a regular web search. Beyond electricity demands, the data centers require enormous amounts of water to cool hardware continuously, putting stress on local water systems and threatening biodiversity. AI is providing new opportunities, but at a cost. And not only is modern tech itself harming, but the production of it as well.
What Is Ecocide, and How Is It Relevant?
Ecocide is defined as actions committed with knowledge of the long-term severe or widespread harming and destruction of the environment. And the tech industry continues to commit them. Our “sustainable” tech is coming from the unsustainable and unethical practices present in the inner workings, production, and usage of their products and services of tech companies.
How the World Runs off of Congo
Cobalt is one of the most crucial minerals in producing servers and tech needed, not only for AI, but also for most of the world’s modern technology. Cobalt is used in lithium-ion batteries for smartphones, computers, tablets, e-cigarettes and vapes, electric cars, windmills, etc. Without cobalt, “green energy,” AI, and the world as we know it would not exist.
More than 70% of the world's cobalt comes from Congo, and most of it is unethically, unsustainably, and inhumanely mined. As the Friends of the Congo, a grassroots organization, describes, Congo has “endured environmental racism” since their time of Western colonization, systematically precluding the Congolese people from determining their own land. Projects like the mining for minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have the inevitable effect of polluting surrounding water sources, crops, and animals; laborers getting injured or dying from collapsing mines; and releasing toxins into the surrounding environment. “This very design is why one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world has one of the highest poverty rates on the planet.” The continuation of remote colonization by large tech companies traps the Congolese people in a cycle of privation.
A lawsuit on behalf of 14 parents and children from the Democratic Republic of Congo against major tech corporations details the various companies’ usage of child labor and the human rights violations in their mining and supply chains. The companies listed included Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft, and Tesla. The popular corporations “paving the way” with sustainability and new technology, such as AI services, are doing so off the backs and blood of Congolese people, who are the first ones to suffer from pollution and climate change.
Tech’s Place in Military & Oppression
But the injustice doesn’t end there. The tech industry is heavily intertwined with and invested in the military industry. Project Nimbus is a 1.2 billion dollar contract with Google and Amazon to provide cloud services and technology to Israel’s government and military, which allows the apartheid government to surveil Palestinian territory and target bombing sites. Companies like Microsoft, Xbox, HP, and Dell share this complicity.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, by November 2024, Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza led to a daily 34.3 million gallons of untreated sewage being dumped into the Mediterranean Sea due to the shutdown of wastewater treatment plants. In Israel’s accelerated genocide and ecocide in Gaza between 2023–2025, their bombs and illegal use of chemicals (such as phosphorus) have decimated civilian and sewage infrastructure, which has led to enormous amounts of pollution of the soil, groundwater, and air.
Working for a Sustainable World
How can our “progress” and "sustainability" stem from the poisoning of the environment, the robbing of minerals, and the massacring of people? To end our complicity, we need change. If our practices are not ethical, they could never be sustainable. Technology has become integrated into our lives, but there are still ways to work around and not support unethical companies.
For example, instead of using the Google search engine, use one that can have AI settings disabled, such as Ecosia or DuckDuckGo. If you’re a student looking for help with academics, use YouTube, Khan Academy, SparkNotes, and tons of other online resources. Boycott brands that exploit people and the environment, and instead buy secondhand electronics and repair what you can. Lastly, keep up with news, human rights organizations, and grassroots or mutual aid organizations actually working with communities for justice and sustainability. Share their information or campaigns in your social circles, and spread awareness about tech’s effects on our planet and climate.
Technology is a resource, but it isn't one we should be abusing. Furthermore, we should be especially conscious to make sure that the tech we utilize isn't abusing the planet or people. By taking action, even small steps, we can create lasting change and a more just, sustainable world for everyone.