Towards a digital planetary health perspective: generative AI and the digital determinants of health

The digital determinants of health have recently attracted attention in the medical and public health literature, but the environmental aspects of these determinants have rarely been considered. This Perspectives article calls for applying a planetary health lens to the digital determinants of health, with a focus on the impacts of novel generative AI technologies on the natural world. The argument is founded on the principle that human and planetary health are intertwined and that digital technologies such as generative AI affect the health of both humans and the other living things in ecosystems. The article discusses proposals of how generative AI tools can contribute to action on the climate, loss of biodiversity and pollution crises but also highlights how the expansion of generative AI infrastructure and operation has exacerbated the problems of e-waste, greenhouse gas emissions and major burdens on energy and water resources. It is argued that for progress to be made in improving human and planetary health, those working in health promotion and other public health domains must acknowledge that human and planetary health are interdependent, so that we can refer to the 'digital determinants of human and planetary health'. The article highlights this interdependence and the importance of fighting for multispecies justice and the rights of nature to promote the mutual flourishing of humans and the natural world. Actions are proposed that can be taken at the organization and community level to make visible and counter the impacts of generative AI on human and planetary health.