IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v31y2023i5p3459-3467.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The ethics of sustainable AI: Why animals (should) matter for a sustainable use of AI

Author

Listed:
  • Leonie N. Bossert
  • Thilo Hagendorff

Abstract

Technologies equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) influence our everyday lives in a variety of ways. Due to their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, their high use of energy, but also their impact on fairness issues, these technologies are increasingly discussed in the “sustainable AI” discourse. However, current “sustainable AI” approaches remain anthropocentric. In this article, we argue from the perspective of applied ethics that such anthropocentric outlook falls short. We present a sentientist approach, arguing that the normative foundation of sustainability and sustainable development—that is, theories of intra‐ and intergenerational justice—should include sentient animals. Consequently, theories of sustainable AI must also be non‐anthropocentric. Moreover, we investigate consequences of our approach for applying AI technologies in a sustainable way.

Suggested Citation

  • Leonie N. Bossert & Thilo Hagendorff, 2023. "The ethics of sustainable AI: Why animals (should) matter for a sustainable use of AI," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3459-3467, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:5:p:3459-3467
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2596
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2596
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2596?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Twine, 2021. "Emissions from Animal Agriculture—16.5% Is the New Minimum Figure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-8, June.
    2. Di Vaio, Assunta & Palladino, Rosa & Hassan, Rohail & Escobar, Octavio, 2020. "Artificial intelligence and business models in the sustainable development goals perspective: A systematic literature review," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 283-314.
    3. Bossert, Leonie & Hagendorff, Thilo, 2021. "Animals and AI. The role of animals in AI research and application – An overview and ethical evaluation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Jon Truby, 2020. "Governing Artificial Intelligence to benefit the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 946-959, July.
    5. Iris M. Bergmann, 2019. "Interspecies Sustainability to Ensure Animal Protection: Lessons from the Thoroughbred Racing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-30, October.
    6. Y. Narayanan & Yamini Narayanan, 2016. "Where are the Animals in Sustainable Development? Religion and the Case for Ethical Stewardship in Animal Husbandry," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(3), pages 172-180, May.
    7. Larissa Bolte & Tijs Vandemeulebroucke & Aimee van Wynsberghe, 2022. "From an Ethics of Carefulness to an Ethics of Desirability: Going Beyond Current Ethics Approaches to Sustainable AI," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-13, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marcell Sebestyén, 2025. "Focal points and blind spots of human-centered AI: AI risks in written online media," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefano Bianchini & Giacomo Damioli & Claudia Ghisetti, 2023. "The environmental effects of the “twin” green and digital transition in European regions," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(4), pages 877-918, April.
    2. A. Jiran Meitei & Pratibha Rai & S. S. Rajkishan, 2025. "Application of AI/ML techniques in achieving SDGs: a bibliometric study," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 281-317, January.
    3. Crumbly, Jack & Pal, Raktim & Altay, Nezih, 2025. "A classification framework for generative artificial intelligence for social good," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Tironi, Martín & Rivera Lisboa, Diego Ignacio, 2023. "Artificial intelligence in the new forms of environmental governance in the Chilean State: Towards an eco-algorithmic governance," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Ciurea Iulia-Cristina, 2024. "The Impact of the EU AI Act on the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 – A Text Analysis," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 2857-2870.
    6. Henrik Skaug Sætra, 2021. "AI in Context and the Sustainable Development Goals: Factoring in the Unsustainability of the Sociotechnical System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, February.
    7. V. Sruthy & P. K. Preetha, 2024. "Implementation and operational feasibility of an offshore floating charging station for sustainable marine transportation," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 20931-20962, August.
    8. Tan Yigitcanlar & Rashid Mehmood & Juan M. Corchado, 2021. "Green Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Efficient, Sustainable and Equitable Technology for Smart Cities and Futures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-14, August.
    9. Mehmet Çağlar & Cem Gürler, 2022. "Sustainable Development Goals: A cluster analysis of worldwide countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 8593-8624, June.
    10. Laith T. Khrais, 2020. "Role of Artificial Intelligence in Shaping Consumer Demand in E-Commerce," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-14, December.
    11. Reyes-Menendez, Ana & Clemente-Mediavilla, Jorge & Villagra, Nuria, 2023. "Understanding STI and SDG with artificial intelligence: A review and research agenda for entrepreneurial action," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    12. Assunta Di Vaio & Rohail Hassan & Gabriella D’Amore & Riccardo Tiscini, 2024. "Responsible innovation and ethical corporate behavior in the Asian fashion industry: A systematic literature review and avenues ahead," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 1129-1173, September.
    13. Broccardo, Laura & Zicari, Adrián & Jabeen, Fauzia & Bhatti, Zeeshan A., 2023. "How digitalization supports a sustainable business model: A literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    14. Lisa Baldi & Filippo Arfini & Sara Calzolai & Michele Donati, 2023. "An Impact Assessment of GHG Taxation on Emilia-Romagna Dairy Farms through an Agent-Based Model Based on PMP," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-24, July.
    15. Darko B. Vuković & Senanu Dekpo-Adza & Stefana Matović, 2025. "AI integration in financial services: a systematic review of trends and regulatory challenges," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-29, December.
    16. Bencsik, Barbara & Palmié, Maximilian & Parida, Vinit & Wincent, Joakim & Gassmann, Oliver, 2023. "Business models for digital sustainability: Framework, microfoundations of value capture, and empirical evidence from 130 smart city services," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    17. Qi, Ruijuan & Khan, Ali Junaid & Basheer, Muhammad Farhan & Ul Hameed, Waseem & Chaudhry, Iffat Sabir, 2023. "Handling the mishandling: Resolving the resource curse through effective utilization of available natural resources and claiming sustainable development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    18. Jakub Mazurkiewicz, 2023. "The Impact of Manure Use for Energy Purposes on the Economic Balance of a Dairy Farm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-22, September.
    19. Serena Strazzullo & Sérgio Moro & Livio Cricelli, 2023. "Unveiling the relationship between sustainable development and Industry 4.0: A text mining literature analysis," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(4), pages 2851-2862, August.
    20. Farheen Naz & Rohit Agrawal & Anil Kumar & Angappa Gunasekaran & Abhijit Majumdar & Sunil Luthra, 2022. "Reviewing the applications of artificial intelligence in sustainable supply chains: Exploring research propositions for future directions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2400-2423, July.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:5:p:3459-3467. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.