The digital is material. Digital systems use energy and run on hardware made from metals extracted from the earth. Data centres generate heat and often rely on large volumes of water for cooling. Some AI systems are trained using poorly paid click-workers, and discarded devices contribute to growing mountains of e-waste. Digital infrastructure may feel invisible, but its environmental and social impacts are real.

You are about to take charge of an organisation making strategic decisions about its digital systems — the tools you adopt, the platforms you rely on, how data is stored, how work gets done. Your choices will shape your organisation’s environmental impact as the years go by.

How to Play

• Earn Progress Points and convert them into Sustainability Points.
• You can play Action cards to prepare your organisation for future challenges.
• You can also play Event cards, which trigger effects depending on the Actions already in play.
• You will be competing alongside two AI-controlled organisations.
• Read the cards to learn more about digital sustainability, and explore the work of the Digital Humanities Climate Coalition and Sustainable AI Futures project.
• Good luck!