Untangling the Life Cycle Impacts of Artificial Intelligence

Henrik Skaug Sætra () and Kari-Anne Lyng
Additional contact information
Henrik Skaug Sætra: University of Oslo
Kari-Anne Lyng: University of Oslo

Chapter Chapter 1 in Advanced Perspectives and Trends in Digital Transformation of Firms, Networks, and Society, 2025, pp 3-12 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being promoted as an instrumental part of the “twin transition,” in which the digital and the green transition are seen as mutually reinforcing. However, there is a need for better methods and models for understanding the environmental impacts of AI systems. While positive impacts of AI for climate change mitigation and adaption are likely, these should only be pursued if they produce a net positive effect, and this requires a thorough understanding of both the climate-related impacts and impacts on, for example, resource depletion, water use, land use, and ecotoxicity. One method for unraveling these impacts is life cycle assessments (LCAs), and in this chapter, we identify and discuss methodological aspects that are relevant when performing LCA of AI systems. The study aims at contributing to taking the first steps toward methodological development and application of LCA to assess the environmental sustainability of AI systems.

Keywords: Artifical intelligence; LCA; Life cycle assessment; Sustainability; Environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-031-80692-6_1

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783031806926

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-80692-6_1

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().