Editorial Reflections

World and Canadian church councils reflect on data centers, AI

 

A Sept. 17 webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Canadian Council of Churches raised voices on "Counting the Ecological Cost of AI - Data Centers, Water, Energy and Critical Mineral Extraction."

Jessica Hetherington of the WCC Climate Justice and Sustainable Development Commission opened the session, saying, "I'm witnessing a cognitive dissonance: a disconnect between the evidence and the way people want things to be."

The Rev. Glen Chebon Kernell, a member of the Seminole Nation, executive director of the Native American Comprehensive Plan of the United Methodist Church-USA and a member of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, spoke about the earth as the original mother, and how the advancement of AI is problematic.

"I belong to her, and she is my first mother," he said. "Our species has been rebellious and violent towards her, extracting, commodifying and trying to sell whatever she freely offers to creation."

Wan Jou Lin of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is doing doctoral research at National Taiwan Normal University on ecofeminism and Indigenous Taiwanese.

"When I look at these key issues, I ask: where is Taiwan in this picture and what kind of ecological crisis is Taiwan facing?" she said. "At this stage most of the discussion is about electricity supply. The question is: given Taiwan's current condition, can we really support the huge demand for the AI industry?"

Yoon-Jae Chang, a pastor and professor in the Presbyterian Church in Korea and the dean of theology at EWHA Womans University in Seoul, Korea, addressed how digital infrastructure impacts vulnerable populations and reminded those gathered how humans and AI differ in crucial ways: "We are mortal. We suffer. We grieve," she said. 

World Council of Churches News