Sustainability takes a backseat as Scope3 plugs agentic AI
Scope3's webpage now promotes it as "the platform for agentic advertising"
Scope3, an ad tech firm launched to clean up digital advertising’s carbon footprint, is leaning further into agentic AI, signalling a pivot from its original sustainability mission.
The US-based firm has cemented its move into artificial intelligence-based technology — known for its carbon-intensive output — by joining a new framework that enables AI agents to exchange data with advertising platforms.
The move builds on the launch of Scope3’s platform earlier this year, designed to help advertisers, publishers and tech partners build and sell agentic media products.
I had a meeting with Scope3 a few months ago where they presented this, and I called them out on exactly the same thing. How can you possibly square the circle that is sustainability in a era of AI.
Even if (and it’s a BIG IF) you can buy programmatically more efficiently (thus reducing carbon emissions), you’re simply moving the problem elsewhere, namely, the (energy) cost of the compute.
This is not just a Scope3 issue though.
The speed at which the HoldCos have left sustainability in their rear view mirror in the wake of pouring millions (or billions collectively) into AI shows you that they never really cared in the first place.
Sustainability was simply a means to an end. A direction to take if it meant winning another piece of business. Add this to the list that already includes DEI, flexible working and so on.
These people could not care less.