Veritatis Gaudium: Multidisciplinary Journal of Postgraduate Studies

Artificial intelligence has considerable potential to support environmental monitoring, climate modelling, agricultural planning, disaster prediction and natural resource management. However, the increasing deployment of AI also generates environmental concerns through energy consumption, electronic waste, resource extraction and the expansion of digital infrastructure. This paper examines the relationship between artificial intelligence, environmental responsibility and sustainable development in Nigeria. Using qualitative documentary and conceptual analysis, the study evaluates recent literature on AI, environmental sustainability and climate resilience alongside Islamic and Christian perspectives on human responsibility toward creation. The Quranic concept of human trusteeship is examined through Quran 2:30 and 6:141, while Quran 30:41 is considered in relation to human actions and environmental degradation. Biblical perspectives draw on Genesis 2:15, which associates human vocation with cultivating and keeping the earth, and Leviticus 25:1 to 7, which provides a conceptual basis for responsible use and periodic rest of land. The paper argues that AI should not be considered environmentally sustainable merely because it provides technological solutions to environmental problems, and that its sustainability must also be assessed in terms of energy use, resource consumption, infrastructure and long-term ecological consequences. It proposes an integrated framework of technological efficiency, ecological responsibility, intergenerational justice and ethical stewardship, and argues that Nigeria can benefit from AI-enabled environmental innovation while establishing stronger environmental standards for digital infrastructure and technology deployment.

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