Samsung dropped its new Galaxy S26 smartphone series at Wednesday’s Unpacked event, and to nobody’s surprise, Galaxy AI was one of the phone-maker’s biggest selling points. From actually useful features like call screening to less necessary ones like photo editing, AI was everywhere in Samsung’s presentation. Except when it talked about the environment.
The Korean company made sure to call out some of its environmental initiatives, including its pledge to include recycled material in all its devices by 2030 and its global water restoration efforts. We could give Samsung some credit for talking about its eco-friendly practices. But you can’t spend over an hour selling your new phones that are chock-full of AI and not talk about how you’re dealing with the immense environmental cost of developing AI.
It’s an important distinction: Discussing your environmental strategy versus directly acknowledging that your AI phones are wreaking havoc on the environment.
AI’s environmental cost is a growing area of concern for experts and ordinary folks, for good reason. AI is a hungry, hungry hippo when it comes to energy. The data centers full of computers that train AI require an incredible amount of energy. The more we use AI tools once they’re released, the more energy tech companies need to keep them running or develop new ones. That’s why there’s a huge push to build data centers across the US, and a countervailing push to ban them from their potential neighbors. Data centers put additional strain on electric grids and require a lot of clean water to keep servers from overheating.
Samsung isn’t alone in its environmental strategy. Google, Microsoft, and other tech giants have long addressed concerns about their tech’s environmental impact by pointing to their efforts to make their operations greener. But at the same time, their goals for reaching net-zero emissions are more out of sight than ever. In a 2024 report, Google admitted its greenhouse gas emissions, a major driver of climate change, had gone up by nearly 50% due to its data centers’ energy consumption.
Tech companies have a responsibility to ensure their products aren’t destroying the planet. Ignoring this won’t end well for them or us. Just ask OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is facing backlash from experts when he said concerns about AI’s water usage are “fake” and relatively small compared to a human’s water usage.
Part of the frustration with AI and the environment is that there is only so much we, as individual users, can do to limit the harm. But we will all eventually feel the effects, whether it’s when a data center moves in next door and raises our electric bills, or when large-scale problems arise from clean water scarcity.
To be clear, I am so glad Samsung is making efforts to be eco-friendly. But if you’re going to sell AI as the future, you should acknowledge that the very same tech might push us further into a climate disaster.
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