WokeOnPaperAI Needs Water Too
The same companies funding digital access can also consume huge amounts of natural resources.
Technology is often presented as a solution to social problems. Companies fund programmes to make AI accessible, support communities and expand digital opportunity. Those investments can be valuable.
But technology also has a physical footprint. Data centres require enormous infrastructure and resources, including water for cooling in some locations. Communities living near that infrastructure can experience its costs.
The contradiction is worth examining. A company can support social good in one place while creating environmental pressure elsewhere. Impact should include the full system around a technology, not just the programme attached to its funding.
