It’s 2026 and we now live in a world where Artifical Intelligence lives….

This same world we need AI because there is no common intelligence left, a place where we think it’s fun to use ChatGTP to create a poster (that anyone creative could put together themselves). I know there are many that will be saying ‘but I don’t have time to do this’. However, do you think that’s what all the animals that are affected by the environmental damage are also saying?

I am not an activist, let me get this straight, I’m not one that would stand and preach in a town centre nor am I an influencer who would dictate on TikTok about how ChatGPT is damaging and polluting our planet. I am however, concerned for the future of my son, his friends and the younger generation.

What am I complaining about? We all knew it would happen eventually, I remember watching Back to the Future II laughing at the different inventions they were using. Remember the face recognition door bell? Well they now do that on mobile phones, now where did I put my hover board?

I’ve known this for a while, I was in the Guardian (yes I know) after writing a blog post about how ChatGPT stole my job. I was a Copy Writer, I spent money on a course to qualify only to be told by a previous boss that actually they had better ways of doing things. This was back in 2023, and here we are three years later, some are now starting to realise the damage ChatGPT is causing.

The ‘what I would look like in the 80s’ images are doing the rounds, so that’s the latest ChatGPT trend ruining this world. There will be more trends too, they will keep coming and eventually producing these images will slowly break away at us.

ChatGPT causes environmental damage – FACT

These large computer servers run day and night to power these AI apps, which uses a high amount of electricity and water. Reports have proof that running these data centres is producing a high ‘carbon footprint’, remember them? Carbon footprint affects the weather, so that heat wave we had a while back was because of the amount of fuel that is being used for cars, planes and automobiles.

There are also computer components that are used to create and put together hardware; like small special computer chips. These are made using components of rare materials which are mined from the earth.

Cognitive and Mental Effects

As well as producing a high carbon footprint AI can affect the brain…

Studies have shown that by using AI apps to write or think for individuals lowers the brain activity. Resulting in your brain making fewer connections, thus affecting the memory (even in younger people).

New reports show that critical thinking skills are being taken over
Using ChatGPT which not only causes environmental damage, weakens your brain’s memory and problem-solving skills, and creates data privacy risks.

Environmental Damage

Energy and Water Use

Large computer servers run day and night to power AI. This uses a lot of electricity and water. A report by Earth.Org notes that running these data centres produces a high carbon footprint.

Security and Privacy Risks

Typing private, personal or company secrets into public AI tools can expose that data if the system is hacked or saves your inputs.

AI can invent fake facts, called hallucinations. Believing these errors spreads false knowledge.

You can reduce the risks of using AI by changing how you type your prompts, adjusting your system settings and changing how often you rely on it.

Protect Your Privacy

Anonymise Your Inputs

Never type personal details like your name, phone number, address or financial records into the chat.

Keep Work Secrets Safe:

Do not upload company code, legal contracts or unpublished research unless you are using a secure, enterprise-grade AI account.

Turn Off Data Training

Go into your settings and disable the option that allows the AI company to use your chats to train future models.

Protect Your Brain (Cognitive Skills)

Use as support

Do not ask the AI to write the final draft of an essay or report. Instead, write your own ideas first and ask the AI to find gaps or suggest improvements.

Fact-Check the Output

Treat AI like an assistant who occasionally lies. Always manually verify important dates, figures and quotes using trusted search engines.

Do the Thinking First

Brainstorm solutions to a problem yourself before asking the AI how it would solve it.

Reduce Environmental Impact

Be Precise

Write clear, direct prompts the first time. Refining the same prompt 10 times uses 10 times the computing energy.

Avoid Casual Searching

For simple questions like “What is the weather today?”, use a standard search engine or local app rather than a massive AI model that consumes far more energy.

I do think that if we all do our bit we can help support this, but unfortunately it will take alot of people to keep the world we have today. AI is significantly taking over, with everything and I’m finding it harder and harder to work without it. We need to stop and think rather than using technology, the way we used to do it.

Thank you personally for reaching this far and do you bit starting now by sharing this post with others, so we can educate and help our forever world before we no longer exist.