Artificial intelligence and the energy future: a crossroads for human security

The ecological transition is advancing at a historical moment in which artificial intelligence (AI) has become a central actor in all critical infrastructures, especially in the energy system. The new book AI and the global energy future. Regulating the ecological transition towards greater human security , coordinated by Roser Martínez-Quirante and published by Aranzadi in 2025, offers an in-depth and multidisciplinary analysis of this decisive intersection between technology, energy and law. The work brings together specialists who examine how AI is transforming the generation, distribution and consumption of energy, but also how it causes new risks: from the exponential increase in electricity consumption of generative models to the strategic dependence on data centers and critical materials.

One of the book's great successes is showing that AI can be both an accelerator and an obstacle to the ecological transition. On the positive side, it allows us to optimize electricity networks, anticipate demand peaks, improve the operation of renewable energies and strengthen resilience in the face of climate variability. However, the massive deployment of AI is also driving up global energy demand, straining the electricity grid and putting decarbonization goals at risk. The work expresses this clearly: without new governance rules, investments in clean energy and strong public oversight, the technology that promises to help us slow climate change could end up accelerating it.

This is the core of the Manuel Ballbé Chair's approach: placing human safety at the center of technological regulation. AI applied to the energy sector is not just a question of efficiency or innovation; it is a question of fundamental rights, climate justice, and geopolitical balance. The book's chapters on administrative law, corporate governance, and international regulatory models underscore the urgency of establishing clear boundaries, standards, and responsibilities to avoid a scenario of “algorithmic exception” where automated decisions overcome meaningful human control.

In a global context marked by competition between great powers for control of AI and energy – the United States, China and the European Union – the book reminds us that Europe must defend its own model based on democratic values: transparency, equity, sustainability and rights. European AI regulation and electricity market reform show that it is possible to direct technological development towards the common good, provided there is political will and collaboration between academia, institutions and civil society.

From the Manuel Ballbé Chair we invite you to read this work as a turning point: an essential guide to understanding the role of AI in the new global energy architecture and to designing public policies capable of harmonizing innovation, security and sustainability. Because the energy future will not be solely digital or solely green: it will be, above all, human .