Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence: A Marriage Made in Heaven, or Trouble at the Horizon?

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability and the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) are both current megatrends, changing the ways we work and live. Yet, the marriage between sustainability and AI may not offer great future prospects when considering the basic principles of sustainability, being ‘development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (Brundtland Commission 1987), together with the power-hungry tendencies of AI, since ‘AI wants more data, more chips, more real estate, more power, more water, more everything’ (Doan 2024, as cited in Werner 2024, 1). Furthermore, the global everyday use of AI is increasing exponentially; today, even Google search answers could be AI-generated (e.g. Raihan, 2024). New digital technologies like AI could help solve many of the challenges faced by sustainable development, potentially contributing to 135 of the 169 UNSDGs (Fan et al., 2023; Saia, 2023).

The crux of AI lies not just in its ability to reduce energy, water, and land use intensities, but, more importantly, in how it facilitates and strengthens environmental governance at a systemic level (Nishant et al., 2020). Researchers have also proposed AI ethics that directly address the environmental crisis we face and should play a central role in our commitments to sustainable development (Wynsberghe, 2021). Committing to AI and sustainability is not optional—it is imperative; and these developments will impact us socially, environmentally, and economically.

Ultimately, AI and sustainability must go hand in hand to ensure that technological progress does not come at the cost of ecological destruction. By embedding sustainability into AI development and deployment, we can harness its power for a greener, more resilient future.

This Special Issue explores the intersection of two of the most pressing challenges of our time: the urgent need for sustainable development—encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions—and the rapid acceleration of digitalization through AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and high-speed (mobile) internet. Given the fast-evolving nature of these technologies, this Special Issue adopts a broad definition of sustainability in relation to AI-enabled innovations. It examines the opportunities, threats, and societal challenges they present, as well as case studies that integrate AI and sustainability research.

As this call for papers combines two distinct fields of study, the writing style of the papers should be accessible to readers who may not be familiar with some of the theoretical constructs used.

Potential topics for this Special Issue of Sustainability include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Major digital service providers like Google that are investing heavily in green energy;
• The use of AI to integrate sustainability into urban or rural environment;
• Data-driven sustainable urbanism;
• Smart cities as a means for sustainable development;
• The role of AI-powered smart devices in optimizing sustainability;
• The challenges, opportunities, and benefits of creating sustainability-focused advanced AI technology;
• Real-world case studies and emerging trends in AI-enabled technologies, including the application of IoT-connected AI-enabled devices to guide sustainable development;
• Balancing smart systems with the need to protect individual privacy and overall cyber security;
• Using AI-enabled applications to educate consumers to choose sustainable products and services or increase civil engagement with sustainability issues;
• AI-driven branding to build sustainable reputation and brand loyalty;
• Transitioning consumer demand from demand for the latest devices towards a more sustainable behaviour;
• The role of governments and policymakers in advancing sustainable AI development;
• Social and ethical dimensions of AI and sustainability.

Overall, this Special Issue will focus on AI’s potential to contributing to sustainability beyond energy and climate, including food, water, biodiversity, and waste management.

This Special Issue aims to build on and extend this discourse in the following ways:

• Bridging the gap between AI innovation and its ecological consequences, ensuring a holistic approach to sustainability that includes both AI applications and their own sustainability.
• Focusing on AI governance and the role of policymakers, which has received less attention in mainstream AI and sustainability research.
• Examining AI's broader societal impacts, including how AI can contribute to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals while minimizing negative social consequences, such as digital divides or job displacement.

This Special Issue will provide a platform for a comprehensive discussion on how AI can be aligned with Sustainable Development Goals, pushing the conversation forward by proposing actionable solutions, policy frameworks, and insights for future research.

References

Brundtland commission. (1987). the United Nationas Brundtland commission, United Nations: sustainability, https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability, accessed 29 Jan 2025.

Fan, Z., Yan, Z., & Wen, S. (2023). Deep learning and artificial intelligence in sustainability: a review of SDGs, renewable energy, and environmental health. Sustainability, 15(18), 13493.

Nishant, R., Kennedy, M., & Corbett, J. (2020). Artificial intelligence for sustainability: Challenges, opportunities, and a research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 53, 102104.

Raihan, A. (2024). A review of the potential opportunities and challenges of the digital economy for sustainability. Innovation and Green Development, 3(4), 100174.

Saia, A. (2023). Digitalization and CO2 emissions: Dynamics under R&D and technology innovation regimes. Technology in Society, 74, 102323.

Van Wynsberghe, A. (2021). Sustainable AI: AI for sustainability and the sustainability of AI. AI and Ethics, 1(3), 213-218.

Werner, J. (2024), We’ll need to anticipate AI using a lot of resources in tomorrow’s world, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwerner/2024/12/15/well-need-to-anticipate-ai-using-a-lot-of-resources-in-tomorrows-world/, accessed 17 Dec 2024.

Dr. Outi Niininen
Prof. Dr. Clare D'Souza
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.

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• sustainability
• sustainable development goals
• sustainable development
• artificial intelligence
• carbon emission
• ethics
• energy sustainability
• sustainable production and consumption
• circular economy