Algorithms on fire: leadership, power and climate collapse in the age of AI

Purpose This paper critically examines how artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies contribute to the climate crisis. It investigates how algorithmic systems, and corporate discourses obscure the material, energetic and extractive dimensions of digital infrastructures, reinforcing environmental injustices. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in Critical Discourse Studies (Van Dijk, 1993; Fairclough, 1995) and Critical Applied Linguistics (Pennycook, 2001), this study employs critical discourse analysis to examine institutional reports, sustainability claims and advertising campaigns from major tech corporations (Google, Amazon, Microsoft). The aim is to uncover discursive strategies that normalize ecological denial. Findings The analysis reveals that corporate narratives construct a grammar of ecological denial that conceals the environmental costs of AI and naturalizes extractive practices. It demonstrates that algorithms are not merely computational tools but discursive-material formations that organize meaning, legitimize unsustainable practices and reinforce environmental injustice. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to qualitative discourse analysis and does not quantify AI's carbon footprint, suggesting directions for future interdisciplinary research. Practical implications The findings encourage tech corporations, developers and policymakers to embed ecological accountability into AI governance. Understanding how discourse shapes perceptions can help institutions craft more transparent and responsible environmental policies. The paper calls for a shift from computational efficiency toward an ethics of technological care in AI design, development and deployment. Social implications The findings urge companies, policymakers and developers to embed ecological accountability into AI governance, contributing to broader climate justice efforts, especially relevant to the Global South. Originality/value This paper introduces the concept of digital climate justice, offering an original interdisciplinary framework that bridges discourse studies, AI ethics and environmental studies. It advances the argument that algorithms, as invisible texts, play a central role in the discursive production of climate invisibility, demanding an ethics of technological care over computational efficiency.