The Metaphorical Landscape of Sustainable AI: Exploring Technology Futures on Twitter

This multimodal metaphor analysis of the ‘Sustainable AI’ discourse on Twitter uncovers the absence of a unified vision. Instead, the term functions as an umbrella term, attracting diverse actors and shedding light on various aspects of sustainability and AI. Our overview and discussion of the different metaphorical interpretations of both, AI and sustainability, indicate that ‘Sustainable AI’ underscores the transformative potential of integrating both concepts, yet also risks oversimplifying complex environmental issues, covering black-box applications, and promoting techno-solutionism. The study concludes that while ‘Sustainable AI’ can indeed harness the ongoing AI hype to prioritize sustainability, a critical examination is essential to navigating potential pitfalls when confronting the climate crisis.