AI + EARTH · AN EDITORIAL JOURNAL
INTELLIGENCE · STEWARDSHIP · PLACE
A journal about what AI makes possible—and what it asks of the Earth.
THE EDITORIAL NOTE
Groundwork follows the relationships between intelligence, infrastructure and everyday life. It is a place to read slowly, question a claim and connect an idea to the world around it.
Start with energy. Follow it to water, materials and communities. Then ask what the technology helps us do—and whether the result is worth the resources it takes.
FOUR WAYS INTO THE STORY
Energy & place
The IEA’s October 2026 analysis puts grid capacity and fair cost allocation alongside efficiency. A data center’s effect on other electricity customers depends on the local system and who pays for new infrastructure.[1]
Who benefits, who pays, and what can this place support?
Water & materials
Cooling is only one part of the picture. UNEP’s lifecycle framework also includes hardware production, mineral demand and electronic waste. The IEA highlights tradeoffs between water and energy use: improving one measure can worsen another.[3][1]
What is counted—and what is left outside the boundary?
Efficiency & demand
The IEA describes efficiency gains alongside rising use and more demanding applications, including video, reasoning and agents. Energy per task and energy across the whole system answer different questions.[2]
Are we measuring a useful result, or simply more activity?
Useful innovation
Google’s 2026 environmental report describes applications such as flood forecasting and resource-efficiency tools. These are company-reported examples of potential value, not proof that every use of AI produces a net environmental benefit.[4]
What improves in the real world, compared with the alternative?
EXPLORE AN IDEA
Move the sliders to explore how efficiency and activity change a total.
ILLUSTRATIVE ENERGY UNITS · SAME SCALE
+50% total energy
50% of the original energy per task × 3 times the activity = 150% of the original total.
An illustration, not a footprint calculator. Tasks are assumed identical. Only energy per task and task count change; training, hardware manufacture and separate facility overhead are excluded. These values are not measurements of an AI product.
A PRACTICE TO TAKE WITH YOU
Our editorial approach: choose a tool that meets the need, evaluate the result, and ask for evidence of the total impact. No universal footprint. No automatic green label.
READ THE MEASUREMENT FIELD NOTEEVIDENCE & EDITORIAL METHOD
Research, company reporting and our own interpretation play different roles. Publication dates and measurement periods stay with the evidence.
Sources reviewed October 28, 2026. This is an editorial collection, not a live news feed. Earlier essays retain their original reporting context.
International Energy Agency · Policy and infrastructure analysis
Powering Artificial IntelligencePublished October 14, 2026
Examines grid integration, water stress and cost allocation. Effects vary by project and electricity system; this is not a footprint for an individual prompt.
International Energy Agency · Analysis and projections
Key Questions on Energy and AIPublished April 16, 2026
Distinguishes improving efficiency from growth in use and more demanding applications. Data-center totals include workloads beyond AI; projections are not observed outcomes.
United Nations Environment Programme · Foundational lifecycle framework
Artificial Intelligence end-to-endPublished September 2024
An older reference retained for its whole-life approach, including equipment, minerals, operation and electronic waste. It is not a current annual footprint estimate.
Google · Company reporting
2026 Environmental ReportPublished 2026 · reporting on 2025
Reports on clean-energy procurement, water projects and product applications including flood forecasting. Procurement commitments and estimated benefits should not be confused with delivered energy or net environmental impact.
The questions and practical suggestions are Groundwork’s editorial guidance. The slider is explanatory arithmetic. Neither is a measured claim about a particular product.
Atmospheric photography by Luca Bravo and David Marcu, under the Unsplash license. Landscapes are not evidence of environmental performance.