Chairs
Oreste Pollicino oreste.pollicino@unibocconi.it
Amon Reichman reichman@law.haifa.ac.il
Giovanni de Gregorio gdegregorio@ucp.pt

This workshop explores the intersection of digital constitutionalism and sustainability, focusing on how constitutional frameworks can manage technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), while protecting fundamental rights and promoting sustainable governance. Also considering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the demand for sustainability has become compelling, thus raising questions on how, despite transnational dynamics, constitutional democracies can address the challenges brought by AI technologies from their local perspective.

This workshop focuses on the following topics:

1. Protecting Fundamental Rights, AI, and Sustainability

The rapid development of AI presents both significant opportunities and challenges for protecting fundamental rights such as privacy, equality, and f reedom of expression. AI technologies, with their capacity for enhancing efficiency, monitoring environmental trends, and supporting sustainable practices, can drive sustainability forward. However, at the same time, expanding the protection of rights could also have consequences on AI and sustainability. For instance, a right to get the retraining of a generative IA model is not only an economic burden, but can also have consequences the heavy reliance on energy-intensive data centres conflicts with efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Likewise, the computational demands of training large AI models, particularly in deep learning, contribute to a substantial carbon footprint, undermining the objective of limiting global temperature rise and supporting climate resilience.

2. Public and Private Governance of AI and Sustainability

In the digital age, the boundaries between public and private governance are becoming increasingly fluid. Large tech companies, often controlling vast amounts of data and digital infrastructure, now play a significant role in shaping public policy, governance, and even societal values. This private dominance makes public actors more connected to the private sector and rely on AI systems to monitor risks and then make decisions in terms of policy and regulation. In this case, biases and automation could lead to an impact on public interests such as environmental protection or agriculture. Furthermore, AI-based solutions can be based on data reflecting wealthier regions, leaving marginalised and underserved communities behind.

3. Green and Blue Policy: The Twin Transition of Sustainability and Technology

The concept of green and blue policies refers to the simultaneous transition toward environmental sustainability (green) and technological advancement (blue), known as the twin transition. As the world strives to mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and accelerate technological innovation, these two transitions must be pursued in tandem. AI systems can play a pivotal role in achieving both sustainability and technological progress by enabling smarter resource management, enhancing climate change monitoring, and promoting the development of sustainable technologies. The integration of AI into green and blue policies is critical for constitutional democracies to ensure that technological advancements contribute to sustainable development while protecting fundamental rights and public interests.

Participants in the workshop are invited to address these challenges at the intersection between digital constitutionalism, AI and sustainability. Constitutional democracies are called to ensure these technologies contribute to sustainability while protecting fundamental rights. This workshop will explore how constitutional systems can foster sustainability while reconciling the protection of fundamental rights with the governance of AI technologies.