What does AI mean for our climate future? IBES researchers weigh in during Family Weekend
Brown students, families, and faculty packed Carmichael Auditorium for a discussion of AI's environmental footprint, its potential to advance climate solutions, and the choices shaping its future.
What does the rapid rise of artificial intelligence mean for our planet — and what can we do about it?
A packed room of Brown students, families, faculty, and community members gathered on October 24 for a Family Weekend panel hosted by the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES). The event, AI, Climate, and Sustainability: A Path Forward for Brown and Beyond, reflected growing interest in understanding the environmental and societal implications of a technology transforming nearly every aspect of modern life.
From the energy demands of data centers to AI-powered advances in climate research and public health, the conversation explored a central question: How can society harness AI's potential while addressing its growing environmental costs?
AI + the Environment
Watch the full Family Weekend conversation exploring the environmental challenges and opportunities presented by AI.
Moderated by Daniel Ibarra, IBES Director of Early Career and Training and Assistant Professor, the panel brought together Brown researchers and scholars working across climate science, environmental policy, public health and emerging technologies.
Visiting scholar Laura Stark discussed the Brown Climate and Computing report, raising questions about AI infrastructure and its environmental implications. Professor Stephen Porder emphasized the uncertainty surrounding AI's long-term effect on greenhouse gas emissions and the importance of decisions about how data centers are powered and regulated.
Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou brought a public health perspective, highlighting AI's potential to expand access to health information alongside concerns about the environmental burdens of data centers and their energy sources on nearby communities.
“ We are going to need to rethink what it means to be a human on this planet when computers can do so much of what we used to think we needed to do. ”
Harnessing AI for climate solutions
The discussion also considered how AI could help communities respond to climate change. Assistant Professor Christopher Horvat introduced EMPIRIC, his AI-powered climate risk assessment initiative recognized with the Innovation of the Year award at the 2026 Innovation@Brown Showcase.
By using AI to generate locally specific climate forecasts for small island states and developing countries, EMPIRIC provides policymakers with information that broader global climate models often overlook. The project demonstrates how AI can help close critical information gaps and empower vulnerable communities to make more informed decisions about their climate futures.
“ It's actually within our control. Any of the changes with computational load, how the policy arena is configured, and the way changes in AI are happening within this are very much a human question and not an issue of tech determinism. ”
A community eager for answers
A lively audience Q&A underscored the community's interest. Attendees asked about greener data centers, the responsibilities of public officials and utilities, potential health disparities, and how to communicate complex AI-related decisions to the public.
When asked what individuals can do, panelists encouraged attendees to look beyond personal AI usage to the broader policies and systems shaping the technology's development. The packed room and thoughtful questions made clear that the Brown community is eager to understand what's at stake — and help shape what comes next.
“ The health impacts [of data centers] on the local communities can be quite substantial. ”
What did we learn? Four key takaways
Explore four central themes from the discussion, or watch the full recording for a deeper dive.
- AI’s environmental impact is still unfolding and depends on the choices we make. Its long-term effects on emissions remain uncertain, while energy, infrastructure, and regulatory choices will be consequential. "It depends not on the technology but on how we choose to implement policy around that technology," says Porder.
- AI presents opportunities — such as closing critical gaps in climate information — and challenges. It can support climate research and public health, even as its energy demands raise environmental and equity concerns. "Places that are at the most risk and highest exposure to things like sea level rise, cyclones, extreme weather … are also the worst served by our current generation of climate predictions," says Horvat.
- Local communities have a stake. Data center development and energy decisions can affect nearby communities and their health. "The impacts in the local communities can be quite substantial … and importantly, it can be regulated so it doesn't have to be that way." says Kioumourtzoglou.
- Universities can help shape a more sustainable AI future. Civic participation and public accountability can help shape how AI develops and whom it benefits. "For me, higher education and Brown in particular is a meaningful terrain of political action," says Stark.