Tradeoffs. The world of tech is full of them. Yet, as Forrester Research points out in a recent trends report, tradeoffs can give disruptive technologies a Jekyll and Hyde personality, providing great benefits but at the same time undermining an organization’s sustainability efforts.
“Disruptive technologies are a double-edged sword for environmental sustainability, offering both crucial enablers and significant challenges,” explained the 15-page report written by Abhijit Sunil, Paul Miller, Craig Le Clair, Renee Taylor-Huot, Michele Pelino, with Amy DeMartine, Danielle Chittem, and Peter Harrison.
“On the positive side,” it continued, “technology innovations accelerate energy and resource efficiency, aid in climate adaptation and risk mitigation, monitor crucial sustainability metrics, and even help in environmental conservation.”
“However,” it added, “the necessary compute power, volume of waste, types of materials needed, and scale of implementing these technologies can offset their benefits.”
Disruptive tech can be a balancing act, noted Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst for SmartTech Research, in Las Vegas.
“These technologies can be incredible accelerators for sustainable outcomes, but without careful planning, they can quietly undermine the very goals they’re meant to support,” he told TechNewsWorld. “The companies that will get this right are the ones treating sustainability as a measurable performance metric alongside revenue and productivity, and holding themselves accountable for both sides of the equation.”
“Often when a new technology like AI hits the market, it carries with it a lot of consequential damages that weren’t fully anticipated,” added Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst with the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore.
“Not only is the technology far more damaging than anticipated,” he told TechNewsWorld, “but it also carries within it methodologies, such as AI modeling and simulation, that could massively reduce that impact, if properly used.”