Artificial intelligence is facing a crisis. Humans are consuming far too many resources, impeding the progress of larger, faster, newer models. It’s time to drink less, shower less, and to prioritize AI. Recent developments in AI technologies have relied on scaling technical infrastructure and capital. While improvements in benchmark performance have been put under the spotlight, environmental and social harms are obfuscated by Big Tech developing the models. Through an art-based initiative, titled Save the AI, we lean into satire and absurdity to visceralize AI’s staggering environmental and social impact. We designed posters, stickers, and postcards to be placed in public spaces to connect to people’s basic needs for resources that are fundamental to their survival and AI’s increasing demand for these same resources. We aim to spark curiosity, reflection, and conversation through our physical designs by leading people to an online networking campaign. This campaign helps people from different parts of the world connect, collectively express their concerns, and work in solidarity.
Han Qiao, Eshta Bhardwaj, Victoria G. D. Landau, Nils Bonfils, Monica Iqbal, Olya Jaworsky, Rowan O.A. Munson, Lena Rubisova, Nadia Mariyan Smith, Ayusha Thapa, and Christoph Becker. 2025. Are You Thirsty? So is Your AI..In ACM SIGCAS/SIGCHI Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies (COMPASS ’25), July 22–25, 2025, Toronto, ON, Canada. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 6 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715335.3736308