Exploring Future Transitions of Generative AI in the Climate Crisis Through Design

Dr Marianne McAra - 1/5/25

This year the TransformationDesign cohort at The Glasgow School of Art embarked on an exciting new partnership with Calum McDonald, Engagement and Participation at the ScottishAI Alliance (SAIA) on an exciting design project exploring the impacts of generative AI (gen-AI) and the climate crisis. The Transformation Design programme teaches students how to apply creativity and systems thinking to engage with complex societal challenges at different scales – exploring person and place alongside people and planet. For this project, the students collaborated in 4 design teams to explore the interconnected themes of consumption, waste, governance and communities to collectively address the broader question of how gen-AI users can better understand and become more aware of the short- and longer-term environmental impacts and carbon costs of gen-AIto shape responsible behaviours.

Over the course of 3 months, the students undertook research with expert stakeholders to design a range of digital and material prototypes (what we refer to at GSA as ‘knowledge artefacts’).These prototypes invited audiences to think about and reflect upon the short and longer-term impacts of gen-AI and consider ways we can navigate its development and use in way that are more restorative to the environment. Their knowledge artefacts were put to the test at a People’s Panel event hosted bySAIA, where the students engaged with a diverse community of attendees. In their own words, the students describe in more detail their project outcomes and intended impact, which embody SAIA’s core values of trust, ethics and inclusion:

CONSUMPTION

Project Team: Xiaoxiang Zhu, HexiangHuang, Yuexin Wu, Qi Mai and Qinghan Dong

‘With the rapid development of gen-AI, its significant resource consumption has become increasingly apparent, exacerbating global climate and environmental issues.Our project aims to raise public awareness of the environmental impact of gen-AI and to support SAIA in communicating the science behind this complex topic in more engaging and visual ways. We hope to spark broader societal attention and contribute to building a strong foundation for Scotland’s net-zero goals. To achieve this, we designed and produced data visualisation posters and interactive installations that present the abstract concept of AI energy use ina more tangible and relatable way. Additionally, through videos and graphic materials, we explain the mechanisms and causes behind AI’s resource consumption, which also provide more sustainable alternatives to encourage users to make environmentally conscious choices. Ultimately, this project seeks to initiate public discussion on gen-AI’s environmental impact and inspire action to reduce its carbon footprint, contributing to the broader goal of ecological sustainability.’

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WASTE

Project Team: Jiachen Weng, YuchenTang, Wanting Tang, Jaiyi Chen and Huiming Yang

‘Aligned to Scotland’s net zero strategy, our team focused on the byproducts or waste generated by generative AI. We explore how principles like Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, andRestore can help transform these byproducts to support a healthier ecosystem. Our research shows that most people are unaware of the environmental ‘cost’ behind everydayAI use. To address this, we visualised the lifecycle of gen-ai and its associated ouputs. By turning invisible impacts into tangible forms, our aim isto help people see, touch, and understand the environmental footprint of AI. Once this awareness is built, we inspire deeper reflection: can we redesign the AI ecosystem to operate more sustainably and reduce its burden on Earth’s resources? To support this, our team created an educational toolkit, which includes material samples, a user manual, and a modular ideation game. The toolkit encourages public engagement with the environmental aspects of generative AI and sparks discussion around building more sustainable AI systems.’

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GOVERNANCE

Project Team: AlejandreKerguelen Roman, Qianyi Fu, Xiaoyi Li, Hao Wu and Shan Yu

‘We’ve understood Governance in this context as new forms of interactionsthat include diverse and non-state actors and organisations in decision-making.Through different practices and interactive processes people can participate inhow public policy evolves and shape how regulatory roles might look in the future. However, the concept of governance can feel abstract and intangible. So, through our project, we’ve created a ‘Ladder of Awareness’ for gen-AI’s governance. The goal is to demonstrate the importance of acquiring transparent and accessible gen-AI knowledge (AI literacy) as an initial step, to then empower diverse and multiple communities to participate in the regulation and governance of it. To make this Ladder ofAwareness tangible, we’ve created a Deliberation and Decision-MakingTool as a prototype to engage with multiple and diverse actors regardless of their background. The tool allows participants to position themselves in various scales that explore their knowledge of gen-AI, awareness of the environmental impact it has, their agency in decision-making in the Scottish context, and general roles and responsibilities in the regulation of it. Ultimately, our goal is to spark reflection and conversation between individuals, local and regional organisations and business and governing bodies in relation to the future of gen-AI in Scotland.’
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COMMUNITIES

Project Team: Jie Su, Julien Granie, Linqiu Song and Yinan Zhou

‘Our project explores the complex relationship between the rise of AI and the ongoing climate crisis. In the context of this global challenge, our team focused on understanding therole and experiences of vulnerable communities, particularly those most affected by environmental and technological changes. Guided by our research question, we chose to concentrate on a specific group within Scotland - the broader farming communities. These communities are vital to the country's economy and environment, yet they face unique challenges related to climate change and technological advancements. We designed an engagement tool that supports community-based collaboration, ideation and problem-solving. The culmination of this process centres on how farming communities can harness the power of AI towards a restorative future for Scotland. Equally, our aim is to support SAIA in their commitment to representing vulnerable communities, fostering a more inclusive approach to AI and climate solutions. Each iteration of engagement would feed into an interactive map of Scotland, allowing citizens and participants to take part and to trace their participation in an evolving and growing ‘forest of ideas’. This online resource shares key insights and case study examples on ways to harness AI to address climate change through restorative practices, while also encouraging ongoing collaboration and network-building.’

PROJECT REFLECTIONS & NEXT STEPS

Reflecting on the project process and suite of design outcomes, this collaboration between GSA and SAIA has been a transformative learning experience for the students. With a deep understanding of AI and its broader societal impacts and commitment to ethical and meaningful community engagement and participation, Calum provided the students with real-world opportunities to put their ideas into practice. For many of them this was their first experience of large-scale community engagement; a formative milestone that also highlighted the value of design-led approaches in giving shape to and making accessible the abstract and technical dimensions of gen-ai technologies so to support greater ai literacy. Looking forward, I am excited to grow this partnership between GSA and SAIA and develop this collaboration with Calum on future student projects.

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FURTHER INFORMATION

If you would like to find out more about:

The Scottish AI Alliance - get in touch here‍
The Transformation Design Programme at GSA – here

Author Bio

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