# Corporate power links AI risks and climate harms, authors argue

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/will-it-be-ai-or-the-climate-crisis-that-ends-humanity-we-can-make-it-neither-adam-mckay-and-philip-eubanks/
- Published: 2026-10-28T12:00:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-28T12:17:50+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/28/ai-climate-crisis-humanity
- Topics: AI, Business, Climate, Science, Technology

## Key points

- The authors link AI and climate risks to corporate power.
- AI-assisted fossil fuel projects could add 1.8 gigatonnes of CO₂.
- Community opposition has delayed or blocked 120 US data centre projects.

## Summary

The authors argue that climate change and the risks from AI share a common driver: powerful companies pursuing profit with too little public accountability. They say debate about a possible AI catastrophe can distract from harms already under way, including AI’s role in expanding fossil fuel extraction and spreading disinformation.

They cite a study estimating that AI partnerships between oil companies and technology firms could add 1.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and report that at least 120 US data centre projects worth nearly $200bn were blocked or delayed in the first half of 2026. The authors present local opposition as an emerging movement to protect water, land and air, and call for more funding for grassroots groups.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.