Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a part of everyday life, powering everything from voice assistants to personalised learning tools. However, this technological advancement comes with a significant environmental cost. Training and running AI systems use a lot of energy, which means more carbon emissions. It also drives higher water usage and e-waste. For example, a recent article in The Washington Post suggests that a bottle of water per email is one of the hidden environmental costs of using AI chatbots.
“Each prompt on ChatGPT flows through a server that runs thousands of calculations to determine the best words to use in a response.”
These calculations generate heat, and water is often used to cool the equipment; yet, a move towards other energy sources can reduce the reliance on water, such as wind or solar energy.
Real Life Problems
Exploring ways to reduce AI’s energy consumption offers a compelling example of a way to redesign science education. Science education should reflect the interconnectedness in nature, making learning more engaging and anchored in real-world problems.”
As Allie Kollman points out: “In our natural world, organisms, energy, genes, and evolution are all tangled together; in school, we often chop up many subjects like science into neat little boxes: cells unit, photosynthesis unit, ecology unit, genetic units, and finally an evolution unit. Nature doesn’t work in units, so why do we teach it that way?”
Learning from nature
Nature offers valuable lessons in efficiency. The practice of learning from and mimicking nature’s time-tested strategies can offer valuable insights as well as ideas for solutions. Just as a cactus survives and thrives in an arid climate by storing and rationing water, we can design AI systems that are not just smart, but efficient and sustainable.
Nature’s modularity, as seen in a tree’s branching structure, can be mirrored in AI by creating modular systems that activate only the necessary components for a given task. The hummingbird’s precise flight pattern demonstrates the efficiency of targeted data usage. AI should likewise focus on using only the most relevant information.
Finally, nature’s cyclical processes, like the decomposition of leaves enriching the soil, can be mimicked by reusing data and repurposing algorithms, reducing the need to constantly start from scratch.
Develop an understanding between technology and the environment.
Helping children understand the connection between technology and the environment gives them a sense of agency. Children will grow up not just as users of AI, but as mindful stewards of its impact.
Let us raise a generation of thinkers who understand that smarter does not have to mean bigger or faster; instead, it can simply mean better. Better for animals, plants and for us!
This is biomimicry applied to computing — not copying a shape, but copying nature’s discipline around energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is the practice of looking to nature for solutions, then applying what we learn to design and problem-solving. Instead of inventing from scratch, it means studying how plants, animals, and ecosystems have already solved a challenge — like staying cool, collecting water, or absorbing carbon — and adapting that strategy for human use.
How does biomimicry help address climate change?
Nature has been adapting to extreme conditions for billions of years, so many organisms already hold working solutions to problems we now face at a larger scale — cooling buildings without electricity (termite mounds), collecting water in drought (the Namib beetle), protecting coastlines from storms (mangrove roots), and capturing carbon (corals, forests, kelp). Biomimicry means studying those solutions and applying the same principles to human design.
How can children get involved in biomimicry?
Children don’t need special training to think like a biomimicrist — just curiosity and a habit of asking “how does nature solve this?” Simple ways to start include a backyard scavenger hunt for nature’s patterns, a “design-an-animal” challenge for a changing climate, or building a small model (like a passive-cooling structure or a water collector) inspired by something they’ve observed outdoors.
Is biomimicry only for scientists and engineers?
No — biomimicry is as much a mindset as a profession. Anyone can practice it by observing nature closely and asking design questions. Professional biomimicry practitioners apply it in architecture, materials science, and engineering, but the same core skill — careful observation followed by “what if we built it that way?” — is exactly what this post’s classroom and family activities are designed to build in children.
Åsa Jomård
In 2015, Åsa completed a course in Biomimicry: A Sustainable Design Methodology at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. With over 10 years of experience exploring nature for inspiration and as a former member of Ben, Biomimicry Education Network, she brings both academic background and creative teaching experience to her work. Her materials seamlessly integrate stories, nature observations, and design challenges, making them perfect for inquiry-led learning in early primary contexts.
AI was used as a Thinking Partner.
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