The Importance Of Addressing Now AI’s Hidden Dependencies And Risks
The Importance Of Addressing Now AI’s Hidden Dependencies And Risks
Publish Date: 2026-05-12 10:00:00
Source Domain: www.forbes.com
Artificial Intelligence
Vithun Khamsong – Getty Images
Using AI can seem like magic – type a prompt, create an automated process, or give a command and the answer just appears. However, the growth, power, and ease of use of AI masks the resources required to underpin it. Every AI model rests on a substantial industrial backbone of minerals, manufacturing, electricity, and water, particularly when it comes to the data centers that deliver the necessary computing power to drive it. This is accelerating investments in this area. For example, research from S&P Global found that over $61 billion flowed into the data center market in 2025.
And usage continues to grow at a business and personal level. According to a recent survey from my company, Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, 54.4% of executives already use generative AI, with a further 19.6% looking to experience it going forward.
Prosper – Heard of Generative AI
Prosper Insights & Analytics
Nearly half (48.6%) of all Americans over 18 have used generative AI for research.
Prosper – Use Generative Artificial Intelligence For
Prosper Insights & Analytics
Understanding the risks of AI
With AI becoming more embedded in business life, organizations need to better understand its risks. Traditionally, these have focused on areas such as avoiding algorithm bias, protecting data privacy, and finding sufficient relevant and high-quality data for training AI models.
However, widescale AI adoption brings new risks for businesses, as Dr. Albert Meige, Global Director of Arthur D. Little’s (ADL’s) Blue Shift Institute explains. “AI has three key resource vulnerabilities – environmental impacts, energy supply, and compute infrastructure. AI’s dependence on these resources leads to vulnerabilities that can significantly affect its future growth trajectory, with implications not just for players in the AI value chain itself, but also enterprise end users.”
Drilling down into these vulnerabilities in detail provides sobering…
