AI and Offshore Wind Energy: Discourses of Technology, Environment, and Activism
摘要
Sustainable energy debates increasingly foreground the “sustainable three”—solar, hydro, and wind—as viable alternatives to coal, oil, and gas. While technological advances in the late twentieth century facilitated their commercialization, current developments in artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping energy infrastructure, particularly offshore wind. AI enables design optimization, regulatory coordination, and construction planning, positioning offshore wind as the fastest-growing renewable sector in the United States. By 2030, eighteen proposed projects with over 100,000 turbines could provide up to 40% of national demand. Despite this promise, offshore wind faces sustained opposition from actors aligned with fossil fuel industries, anti-wind advocacy groups, and some environmental organizations. Much of this contestation unfolds on social media, where activists link offshore wind development to broader debates about AI. This study employs discourse analysis of ten high-membership Facebook activist groups to identify five recurring strategies through which users frame AI about sustainable energy. Findings suggest that activists mobilize narratives of technological reliability, environmental trade-offs, and political agendas to contest or legitimize offshore wind, thereby shaping public opinion and regulatory outcomes. The analysis demonstrates how discursive associations between AI and offshore wind amplify activist claims and extend the salience of energy debates across digital platforms. By situating offshore wind controversies within broader sociotechnical discourses, the study contributes to scholarship on environmental communication, digital activism, and the communicative dimensions of energy transitions.