Ethical and environmentally friendly AI (Does it exist?)
Are ethical and environmentally friendly AI platforms, beyond Big Tech, possible? If so, how can we make these alternatives more widely available, accessible, and affordable?
I just cancelled my OpenAI account after they made a deal with the Department of War.
What's the alternative?
Anthropic made a deal with Palantir back in 2024. Google is also open to military partnerships - they lifted their own ban in 2025. Generally, Big Tech will always work for or with governments - and support defense - in one way or another through direct partnerships or indirectly through other companies.
All tools we use are deeply embedded in the defense industry. Even music platforms like Spotify have been under the spotlight (and rightfully criticised) for running ads for ICE (supposedly no longer). And yet, I’ve been unable to cancel my Spotify account because alternatives currently do not exist in Türkiye and I have been building up my music library for around 15 years. I’ve also hosted my own music on the platform. Is that an excuse? Maybe not. And would I switch to Tidal or Quboz today if I could? Yes, probably. I share this with vulnerability because music is such an important part of my life - I honestly don’t know what I’d do without the ability to access “my” music library every day.
For now though, I’d like to touch on something else.
My question is:
Are there ethical and environmentally friendly alternatives to the AI platforms we are using? To the Big Tech tools we are using?
When it comes to AI (and I’ll focus on this for now), from what I see, there are some - but not at the capabilities that the top models provide.
Here’s what I’ve learnt from my very short research:
Locally run bots are actually a lot better for data privacy, even if they run on the models provided by big tech. Jan for example is an open-source tool built publicly that runs various models. The fact that it is run locally means your data isn’t uploaded to servers.
Proton has its own AI called Loom. Proton is a Swiss-based company and has the strictest rules when it comes to Data Privacy.
Notion provides AI services and access to most top models (such as GPT, Claude and Gemini). If you pay them - you are technically supporting a productivity app - not the AI models directly. This is a potential alternative…but the indirect support still remains.
How are we meant to keep these tools in check when they have free reign? How are we indeed meant to make any significant progress for people and the planet when “tech bros” are ruling the world - or as Carole Cadwalladr so eloquently put it, when we are being run by a “broligarchy”. (I recommend her substack: “How to survive the broligarchy.”)
We all use these tools and platforms in our day to day and I’m desperately trying to find alternatives. So, if you know of any, please let me know. I’m willing to learn to make the switch but cost and convenience are such an important aspect of how we make these decisions.
For e.g. for our new business, my work partner and I simply cannot afford Proton’s workspace over Google workspace. Or tools like LibreOffice, an alternative to Microsoft Office, are glitchy and simply not as easy to use.
How do we make alternatives more available, accessible, and easier to afford? Is ethical and environmentally friendly AI possible?
I know there are a bunch of conversations happening around this topic in various arenas, but I also have a feeling that it isn’t being pushed to the forefront nearly as much as it should. I keep sensing that people, including myself, feel trapped buying and supporting these platforms because it’s cheaper, easier to use and collaborate with others.
Everything is political - and this is no different.
What and how we decide to use these tools will very literally change the future of the world. We need to lobby more and be more vocal. I’m no expert but I’m someone who cares and I know there are many of us out there who just don’t know where to start. This blog post is not the answer. But at least the questions we ask, can start a ripple effect for further conversation and hopefully lead to collaborations that could potentially lead to policy change.
Maybe.
