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# The True Cost of Generative AI

Environmental Realities, Ethical Dilemmas, and Critical Thinking in the CS Classroom

As generative and agentic AI tools become increasingly embedded in digital culture, educators face pressing socio-technical questions about their broader impact beyond the classroom screen. While targeted machine learning applications operate with low energy use and offer clear societal benefits—such as detecting cancer—generative AI products require immense energy that drives rapid data centre expansion. For instance, planned data centre capacity in Scotland alone (9.7 GW) threatens to consume renewable energy required for decarbonising heating and transport, forcing reliance on gas power and accelerating greenhouse gas emissions.

Unchecked growth in AI emissions threatens to bypass global climate targets and contribute to catastrophic environmental consequences, including extreme weather, resource conflicts, and economic disruption. This workshop provides educators with the evidence and critical frameworks needed to inform classroom practice and engage learners in evaluating the hidden socio-technical footprints of modern technology.

**Key Classroom Provocations & Critical Thinking Questions**

To help teachers guide challenging classroom discussions, the workshop introduces key provocations designed to spark critical analysis among pupils:

* **Ethical Justification:** If the global infrastructure powering generative AI actively undermines climate targets and threatens future planetary stability, can the routine use of generative AI in education be ethically justified?
* **Disentangling 'AI' Terminology:** How can we teach pupils to critically distinguish between beneficial, low-energy machine learning models and energy-intensive generative AI tools?
* **Impact on Learning and Autonomy**: Given the relevant environmental concerns, how should we interpret the possibility that reliance on generative AI might compromise pupil learning, problem-solving, and independent critical thought?

By addressing these urgent socio-technical themes, this session equips teachers to help learners look beyond screen-level convenience and develop a mature, critical understanding of technology’s real-world impact.

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**Wim Vanderbauwhede**

University of Glasgow
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