What AI Costs the Planet and How Higher Ed Can Help
June 17, 2026Republished on June 17, 2026 from the One-U Responsible AI Initiative.
Behind every AI prompt is a chain of physical infrastructure—from data centers and power grids to cooling systems, mined minerals, and discarded hardware—with consequences for people and the planet, University of Utah researchers reminded the campus community during an Earth Month panel discussion.
“We have millions of users that are hitting enter or submit at any one time, which depend on real physical infrastructure, which, in turn, has real physical impacts to local communities," said panelist Jon Fisk, an associate professor and associate director in the School of Public Affairs.
The April 15 discussion, co-hosted by the College of Nursing and the One-U Responsible AI Initiative (One-U RAI) at the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute, focused on AI and sustainable innovation in higher education. Fisk and four other U researchers discussed AI’s environmental costs, efforts to build more sustainable systems and advance environmental science, and how faculty, staff and students can use the technology more critically and shape its future.
by Joe LaFata