Abstract
Previous scholarship has outlined some of the ethical considerations regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom and beyond, such as the potentials for plagiarism, information bias, disinformation, or even violations of user privacy. Though research suggests that machine learning is a major and ever-increasing contributor to carbon emissions, there has been little discussion of how we teach about the ethics of AI from an environmental perspective. Therefore, this critical commentary first outlines how an ecofeminist pedagogy can help students consider the environmental and ecological effects of new technologies, including AI. At its core, an ecofeminist pedagogy argues that gender, race, class, and other forms of domination are deeply connected to oppression of the natural world, and that we should not elevate technology at the expense of ecology. This article also shares advice on how to incorporate critical sustainability frameworks, such as the Principles of Environmental Justice, into coursework across disciplines to help students reflect on the environmental impact of their consumption practices and habits. In all these ways, this commentary proposes an ecofeminist lens which can help instructors to appropriately ground new technologies like AI – which may seem abstract, disembodied, or virtual – within the physical and environmental present.
Recommended Citation
Crowell, Jessica K.
(2025)
"Towards an Ecofeminist Pedagogy: The Environmental Ethics of AI,"
Feminist Pedagogy: Vol. 6:
Iss.
3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/feministpedagogy/vol6/iss3/2
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons