New paper: How AI influences climate emotions and actions

The study, authored by researchers from Stockholm Resilience Centre and other institutions, highlights how digital networks and AI systems—from personalized news feeds to generative AI—can influence emotions that either spur climate action or deepen climate despair.

“Emotions shape everything from public support for climate policies to individual actions like reducing carbon footprints or support to climate policies” says lead author Victor Galaz, associate professor at Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.

“With AI infused in digital social networks, these emotions can now be amplified or manipulated at an unprecedented scale.” he adds.

The Emotional Pulse of the Climate Crisis

Emotions have long played a crucial role in shaping human perceptions and responses to crises, including climate change. Fear of extreme weather events, anger at political inaction, and hope for a greener future all influence how individuals and societies respond to environmental challenges.
The study points to several mechanisms through which AI technologies shape climate emotions:

1. Social media platforms, powered by AI-driven recommender systems, curate content based on emotional engagement, often prioritizing emotionally charged posts—whether hopeful, outraged, or fearful.

2. Generative AI, such as ChatGPT and other AI-powered platforms, can craft highly persuasive digital content, further influencing public opinion and activism in complex ways.

The Double-Edged Sword of AI-Driven Climate Emotions

The social impacts of the spread of climate emotions is far from linear and predictable, but the result of interactions between technology, social relations and psychological mechanisms. On one hand, AI-powered social networks can help mobilize climate action. Online movements like Fridays for Future gained traction through emotionally resonant social media messaging, helping millions of people rally around climate advocacy.
On the other hand, digital networks can also foster climate anxiety, misinformation, further decoupling people from Nature, and lead to affective polarization. AI-generated content can reinforce such processes, deepening societal divisions on climate issues.

What’s Next?

Given the growing influence of AI on climate emotions, researchers emphasize the need for responsible AI development and digital literacy. They call for increased transparency in AI-driven content recommendations, better oversight of AI-generated misinformation, and the use of AI to foster constructive climate engagement and informed deliberations.
The study also urges researchers, policymakers, and social media platforms to better understand how AI shapes collective emotions.
In an era where AI shapes how we feel about climate change, the question is not whether technology will influence emotions—but how we understand these technologies’ role in affecting how we relate emotionally to the planet, to future generations, and to each other.

The research has been funded by a grant from Formas, and the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.