Ten Rules for the Digital World

The process of digitalization is considerably more destructive to the environment than it is generally portrayed to be. Energy, water, air, rare earth minerals, gases, landscapes, and space itself cannot simply be bought, expended, and reduced to mere resources—and yet they are, often contrary to the desires and common sense of the general public. A systematic survey of the total environmental costs of technology at every step of its development and business, on a global level, and through an adequately standardized and regularly updated monitoring system, is sadly lacking. Public awareness regarding how gravely digital technologies burden the environment and burn through natural resources is a prerequisite for both users and organizations to be more conscious about their use, thereby helping to ensure that IT services and AI are used only when they contribute to the creation of social values in an environmentally friendly way.