Climate analyst Ketan Joshi (2026) expertly documents the highly misleading nature of Big Tech’s assertions of AI’s climate benefits. The central misdirection relies on the distinction between “traditional AI” and “generative AI” – the latter of which is the culprit behind the explosion in commercial AI infrastructures and far more energy-intensive. The overwhelming majority of claims pertaining to AI’s climate benefits apply only to traditional (i.e., task-specific) AI; whether or not these benefits are legitimate, these tech-driven efficiencies are “unrelated to – and dwarfed by – the massive expansion of energy use from the generative AI industry” (Joshi, 2026, p. 4). Joshi’s study further reveals that assertions of AI’s potential for enhancing sustainability are broadly unsubstantiated. Out of the 154 claims scrutinized, only 26% cited peer-reviewed academic research, whereas a slightly higher percentage (29%) cited other questionable corporate materials, and 36% did not cite any e