Author: Salomé Wagner
“AI design, planetary health”: Reflections on Lena Pohlmann’s Talk at the Central European University
“AI vs. Planet: Peril or Opportunity?” Topical Debate of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy at the Central European University on January 26, 2026
Talk by Lena Pohlmann, PhD Candidate at the Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism
At the topical debate “AI vs. Planet: Peril or Opportunity?”, Lena Pohlmann delivered a compelling and nuanced perspective on the environmental costs of artificial intelligence with her talk “AI design, planetary health”. Drawing on her interdisciplinary background in physics, philosophy of technology, and computer science, Lena outlined:
AI is not immaterial — it is deeply embedded in planetary infrastructures.
Her talk unpacked the entire lifecycle of AI systems, from rare mineral extraction and hardware manufacturing to data-center cooling and energy-intensive training, inference of AI models. With rapid growth projected as AI adoption accelerates, data centers will probably account for around 3% of global electricity consumption by 2030. Lena Pohlmann argued that there is lacking transparency by AI companies regarding those impacts
Lena presenting at the Central European University, January 2026
As a PhD candidate at the Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism, Lena bridges technical analysis with societal inquiry. Her research examines not only the embodied and operational environmental impacts of AI, but also public awareness of these. By combining quantitative social science methods with qualitative interviews in communities near data centers, she will evaluate how environmental costs are unevenly distributed.
Importantly, the talk highlights future research directions for alternative sustainable AI systems. In her PhD project, Lena will analyze how users needs of AI can be met while decreasing environmental impact and how they can be supported to make more informed, sustainability-oriented AI choices.
“Responsible AI innovation is where sustainability is not an add-on, but a core design and governance challenge — and one that demands interdisciplinary solutions.“
About Lena Pohlmann
Lena Pohlmann has an interdisciplinary background with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Technology from TU Berlin, and research experience in Computer Science. She is a PhD candidate at the Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism with home institution University of Vienna, Political Communication Research Group.
The PhD Project “AI Innovation and Sustainability is supervised by Prof. Dr. Sophie Lecheler (Uni Wien), Prof. Dr. Hajo Boomgarden (Uni Wien) and Prof. Dr. Emanuel Salinger (TU Wien).
PhD Project Description “AI Innovation and Sustainability”
Lena Pohlmann PhD Project Poster