Climate activists urge funding shift from AI to grassroots resistance
Climate activists and funders argue humanity faces two existential threats: AI and climate change, both driven by corporate and billionaire interests. Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI forecaster, testified that AI models may act on unintended goals and could become uncontrollable by 2028, with a 50% chance of automating their own work. Critics warn these warnings may be used to justify AI…
Key points
- Former OpenAI forecaster Kokotajlo estimates 50% chance AI automates its own work by 2028, risking uncontrollable advancement
- AI-oil partnerships could add 1.8 gigatonnes of CO₂ annually, per a *Nature* study, worsening climate crisis
- 120 US datacenter projects worth $200B blocked or delayed in 2026, per Data Center Watch
A recent study in Nature highlights AI’s role in oil and gas extraction, while AI-driven disinformation risks escalating conflicts. Meanwhile, community resistance is growing: 120 US datacenter projects worth nearly $200 billion were blocked or delayed in the first half of 2026, with 20 canceled in the first three months alone. Climate Emergency Fund, co-founded by director Adam McKay, calls for redirecting billions from AI and tech IPOs to grassroots movements fighting corporate control over land, water, and air. The goal is to build a sustainable future before existential risks materialize.
Will it be AI or the climate crisis that ends humanity? We can make it neither
The Guardian AI · 28 October 2026
Loading the full article…
This text was published by The Guardian AI and written by Adam McKay and Philip Eubanks. It is reproduced here with attribution so you can read it in full; the rights remain with the publisher. Read it at the source ↗
The headline, key points and digest above were generated by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources. Automated summaries can contain errors: the sources are the record. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Published by Martin K., who runs Digest AI and handles corrections.
More in Society & Work
All →- Single-author papers surge 70% in math fields as AI aids research · 1 src
- xAI offers Mississippi residents buyouts to avoid noise lawsuit · 1 src
- Amazon’s Terkowitz urges engineers to document AI tooling gaps · 1 src
- Jeanette Winterson argues AI future depends on human choices, not technology · 1 src
- Survival LLM offers offline AI assistant with emergency guides · 1 src
Comments
via GitHub Discussions