As government representatives met in Geneva for the United Nations’ first discussions on global AI governance, environmental advocates warned that one critical issue has received little attention: the potential impact of AI on biodiversity and ecosystems.
Debates about the environmental footprint of AI have largely centered on data centers’ energy and water consumption and carbon emissions. Campaigners argue that the conversation has ignored how the rapid expansion of AI could intensify pressure on natural resources across multiple industries.
According to Campaign for Nature director Brian O’Donnell, AI has valuable applications in conservation, including tracking wildlife and monitoring forests. However, he believes the technology’s broader economic effects pose a much greater risk.
O’Donnell noted that private investment in AI exceeded $250 billion in 2024, with most of that funding aimed at generating commercial returns. He warned that sectors such as industrial agriculture, resource extraction, and large-scale logistics already contribute significantly to biodiversity decline and could become even more efficient through AI.
According to O’Donnell, policy papers published by major technology companies largely focus on issues such as jobs and social impacts while paying little attention to the long-term implications for biodiversity. Although some firms have financed small conservation projects, he said none have meaningfully incorporated biodiversity concerns into AI safety frameworks.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently proposed an initiative aimed at increasing transparency around AI’s environmental effects, including its energy use, emissions, and land requirements. Guterres has also urged companies to ensure that all data centers operate using renewable power by 2030. Yet campaigners note that biodiversity has not featured prominently in these proposals.
The preliminary findings of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI also give limited attention to environmental concerns. Presented during the Geneva meeting, the report references examples of AI helping reduce conflict between wildlife and humans but does not identify significant risks to ecosystems.
O’Donnell acknowledged the benefits of technologies that monitor species populations, map forest damage, and use camera systems to track animal movements. Still, he argued that these applications receive disproportionate attention compared with the risks associated with intensified resource exploitation.
He warned that AI could make commercial activities cheaper and more productive while opening previously inaccessible areas on land and at sea. Such developments, he said, could accelerate overfishing, increase logging, worsen pollution and contribute to the spread of invasive species through expanding trade networks.
Indigenous communities have also expressed concern. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, an Indigenous leader and environmental activist from Chad, said communities fear that their territories, mineral resources, and traditional knowledge could be exploited as AI accelerates economic growth. She called for safeguards to ensure knowledge sharing occurs fairly and cannot be misused.
Ibrahim and O’Donnell said they plan to push governments, the UN, and tech firms to place biodiversity at the center of future AI discussions, including at the UN biodiversity summit in Armenia later this year.
It would be interesting to hear from executives at companies like D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS) on how quantum computing systems can play a role in limiting the harm that advanced technologies like AI can cause to nature.
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