Climate change and AI are two of the most significant factors shaping the future of Asia. However, the interaction between these two transitions and their impact on other sectors needs to be better understood.

AI technologies can support more efficient and innovative resource use, forecast potential risks, and advance research and discovery.

They can be useful for gathering information for large-scale analysis and improving operational efficiencies. Pursuing a green transition could also transform the digital sector through, for example, a switch to alternative energy sources.

But, these digital and green transitions could also negatively affect each other.

AI production and use can increase energy consumption and resource extraction. AI-based recommender systems can nudge people toward better behavioural practices, but this can undermine individual agency and privacy. The use of AI also raises questions about data access and governance. Better-resourced nations may be better positioned to develop and leverage AI technologies, increasing inequity across countries.

Over 10 months, Digital Futures Lab and the Rockefeller Foundation studied the emergent intersection between AI and climate action in Asia.

<aside> 🌾 Can AI support climate policy and climate mitigation and adaptation efforts? What are the enablers, challenges, and risks?

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<aside> 🚧 How might the development and deployment of AI exacerbate climate-related risks?

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<aside> ♻️ What strategies and interventions are needed to align and steer these transitions towards socially beneficial and sustainable outcomes?

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Much of the existing research in this space derives from the experiences and priorities of a select few industrialised economies. The conversation is also fairly general and top-down, obscuring how differences in national contexts and capacities will shape these emerging trajectories. Many studies also have a product-oriented view of the space, highlighting, for example, the gains expected from specific interventions. This can obscure broader system dynamics and structural impacts, such as impacts on livelihoods and marginalised social groups.

You can read some of the key takeaways from our research ⬇️

Key Takeaways

Strategic Foresight

Strategic foresight methodologies help explore different plausible futures that could arise, and the opportunities and challenges they could present, to anticipate and better prepare for change.

Two key activities were undertaken as part of this project: