As the use of artificial intelligence spreads rapidly across industries, a new report shows that corporate adoption may be outpacing rules and safeguards to control it.
Researchers warn of an "emerging gap," with companies deploying powerful AI systems without sufficient governance — and, perhaps, without fully understanding the technology's broader social and environmental impacts.
What's happening?
According to sustainability news outlet Edie, new data from the Thomson Reuters Foundation shows that companies are embracing AI at a rapid pace, while transparency and oversight lag behind.
The Foundation's AI Company Data Initiative reviewed publicly available disclosures from 1,000 companies across 13 sectors worldwide. Fewer than half — 48% — of the companies examined disclosed any AI strategy or guidelines. And of those who did, most leaned heavily on broad principles, such as "ethical," "safe," and "trustworthy" as requirements. However, these companies often failed to clearly substantiate such principles with concrete details.
Meanwhile, 97% of companies with AI strategies did not evaluate the energy use or emissions footprints of the systems they deploy. More than two-thirds failed to assess societal impacts beyond direct users, including effects on workers, access to services, and public trust.
And while many firms have management-level oversight, only 41% of them made their AI policies accessible to employees or required staff to acknowledge them.
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"Our data shows an emerging gap between adoption and governance, as companies race to harness the potential of AI," said Katie Fowler, director of responsible business at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, in a release.
Why is this concerning?
Training and running advanced AI models require vast amounts of energy. The International Energy Agency has projected that electricity demand from the data centers that drive AI operations could more than double by 2030, at least partly driven by fossil fuels. Data centers also consume significant amounts of water for cooling.
At the same time, AI can be a tool for social good.
It can help optimize power grids, forecast renewable energy output, reduce waste, improve efficiency across supply chains, and even guide agricultural production to navigate extreme weather.
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Definitely 👍 The challenge is that without meaningful transparency and effective guardrails, those benefits may be outweighed by higher energy demands, water stress, security risks, and unintended social consequences.
With new rules like the European Union's AI Act set to take effect later this decade, per Edie, companies that ignore these risks could face regulatory, reputational, and financial consequences down the line.
They could also be held responsible by future generations for misusing a key tool.
What's being done?
The AI Company Data Initiative — developed with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization — offers a free tool to help companies track where AI is used, benchmark governance practices, and align with global ethics standards.
With data center construction and AI practices set to be hot topics in midterm elections later this year, voters could also make their voices heard. Candidates may face pressure from constituents to develop and implement sensible regulations that allow for innovation while mitigating the technology's downsides.
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