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Friend or foe? The problem with AI and greenwashing

Artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword which can enhance transparency and also perpetuate false claims on sustainability efforts

    • A "greenwashing" character chasing activists during a climate demonstration in New York City. There is now greater enforcement over greenwashing claims, with stricter penalties and more detailed reporting requirements becoming the norm.
    • A "greenwashing" character chasing activists during a climate demonstration in New York City. There is now greater enforcement over greenwashing claims, with stricter penalties and more detailed reporting requirements becoming the norm. PHOTO: AFP
    Published Fri, Oct 4, 2024 · 05:00 AM

    THE battle against greenwashing is set to become easier with a potential ally – artificial intelligence (AI).

    Driven by cold, hard data and emotionless algorithms, AI can play a critical role in identifying misleading claims and verifying environmental performance, thus increasing transparency in sustainability efforts.

    Greenwashing – when businesses make misleading claims to the public about their environmentally sustainable efforts or products – is rampant in markets throughout the world, spurred both by profit chasing and increasingly pro-environment consumers.

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