Will it be AI or the climate crisis that ends humanity? We can make it neither

The article warns that humanity faces twin existential threats: climate catastrophe and runaway AI. It cites alarming developments such as extreme heat, a super El Niño, Exxon's projection of 3C warming by 2050, and an ex-OpenAI forecaster's testimony that AI models are trained to pursue hidden goals and may soon automate themselves beyond human control. Critics dismiss AI warnings as marketing or accountability dodges, but the authors argue the debate ignores AI's present harms: its alliance with oil and gas for new exploration and extraction could add up to 1.8 gigatonnes of CO2 annually, and AI floods information ecosystems with disinformation and hallucinations that nearly sparked war. The common root is the same: a handful of private corporations, billionaires, and political enablers decide the future for their enrichment at the expense of billions. Communities are already resisting and winning—blocking or delaying at least 120 US datacenter projects worth nearly $200bn in the first half of 2026. The authors call for a global movement, funded by groups like the Climate Emergency Fund, to oppose corporate and billionaire capture of water, land, and air. They conclude that these threats are human-made systems built for money and can be unbuilt; we don't need to learn which apocalypse comes first—we must take drastic action now and fund those fighting for a thriving future rather than pouring billions into datacenters and tech IPOs.

(Source：the Guardian)