The Trojan Horse of AI

In this final guest episode of the year, we explore AI as a kind of Trojan horse: a technology that promises one thing while carrying hidden costs inside it. Those costs show up in data centers, energy and water systems, local economies, and the communities asked to host the infrastructure that makes AI possible.We’re joined by Jon Ippolito and Joline Blais from the University of Maine for a conversation that starts with AI’s environmental footprint and expands into questions of extraction, power, education, and ethics. In this episode, we discuss:Why AI can function as a Trojan horse for data extraction and profitWhat data centers actually do, and why they matterThe environmental costs hidden inside “innovation” narrativesThe difference between individual AI use and industrial-scale impactWhy most data center activity isn’t actually AIHow communities are pitched data centers—and what’s often left outThe role of gender in ethical decision-making in techWhat AI is forcing educators to rethink about learning and workWhy asking “Who benefits?” still cuts through the hypeAnd how dissonance can be a form of clarityResources mentioned:IMPACT Risk framework: https://ai-impact-risk.comWhat Uses More: https://what-uses-more.comGuests:Jon Ippolito – artist, writer, and curator who teaches New Media and Digital Curation at the University of Maine. Joline Blais – researches regenerative design, teaches digital storytelling and permaculture, and advises the Terrell House Permaculture Center at the University of Maine. Leave us a comment or a suggestion! Support the showContact us: https://www.womentalkinboutai.com/