The AI Sustainability Paradox - Promise, Peril, and Planetary Futures

Nov 18, 2025

Sean and Andrew dive into whether AI can genuinely aid in tackling climate change and other ecological crises. They discuss the significant energy and resource demands of AI technologies, highlighting the paradox of being part of the solution while potentially deepening the crisis. The conversation touches on real-world AI applications in scientific research and the importance of integrating human behavior into AI models. They also explore AI's potential as a facilitator for global cooperation and the ethical challenges related to reliance on technology for sustainability.

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ANECDOTE

50-Mile Bike MS Ride

Sean Leahy describes completing a 50-mile Bike MS ride with steep climbs and camaraderie.
He emphasizes finishing despite modest gear and learning he needs better equipment for longer rides.

INSIGHT

Anthropocene Reframes Human Responsibility

The Anthropocene frames humanity as a geological force altering planetary systems.
That context forces us to treat sustainability as central to human futures, not optional.

INSIGHT

AI As A Double-Edged Tool

AI brings powerful modeling and discovery tools while also creating new environmental costs.
This duality makes AI a double-edged force in planetary sustainability.

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In this episode of Modem Futura, Sean and Andrew explore one of the most urgent and complex questions of our time: Can AI meaningfully help humanity navigate climate change, biodiversity loss, freshwater scarcity, and the broader planetary pressures shaping the Anthropocene — without worsening them? Drawing on the new 2025 synthesis report AI for a Planet Under Pressure from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the conversation unpacks how artificial intelligence is being used today to model ecosystems, accelerate scientific discovery, and surface hidden patterns that humans alone cannot easily see. At the same time, Sean and Andrew wrestle with the paradox at the heart of AI-driven sustainability: data centers require staggering amounts of energy, water, and planetary resources, raising the unsettling possibility that the tools designed to save us may also accelerate the crisis.

The discussion travels from planetary boundaries and microplastics to China’s renewable-energy surge, climate cooperation, wicked problems, and the deep human behaviors that often undermine long-term sustainability efforts. They also ask whether AI could help foster global cooperation — even acting as a kind of AI “peacemaker” — and explore why futures thinking, human agency, and ethical governance are essential if any of these technological pathways are to work. Ultimately, the episode examines both the promise and peril of letting AI become an architect of planetary futures.

[Report] - AI for a Planet Under Pressure - Stockholm Resilience Centre

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Host Bios:

Sean M. Leahy, PhD - ASU Bio
Sean is an an internationally recognized technologist, futurist, and educator innovating humanistic approaches to emerging technology through a Futures Studies approach. He is a Foresight Catalyst for the Future of Being Human Initiative and Research Scientist for the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and Senior Global Futures Scholar with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.

Andrew Maynard, PhD - ASU Bio
Andrew is a scientist, author, thought leader, and Professor of Advanced Technology Transitions in the ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. He is the founder of the ASU Future of Being Human initiative, Director of the ASU Risk Innovation Nexus, and was previously Associate Dean in the ASU College of Global Futures.

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