cs.HCMar 28, 2026

Where Does AI Leave a Footprint? Children's Reasoning About AI's Environmental Costs

Authors: Aayushi Dangol, Robert Wolfe, Nisha Devasia, Mitsuka Kiyohara, Jason Yip, Julie A. Kientz

Organizations: University of Washington Seattle, WA, USA · Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ, USA · University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Abstract

Two of the most socially consequential issues facing today's children are the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the rapid changes to the earth's climate. Both issues are complex and contested, and they are linked through the notable environmental costs of AI use. Using a systems thinking framework, we developed an interactive system called Ecoprompt to help children reason about the environmental impact of AI. EcoPrompt combines a prompt-level environmental footprint calculator with a simulation game that challenges players to reason about the impact of AI use on natural resources that the player manages. We evaluated the system through two participatory design sessions with 16 children ages 6-12. Our findings surfaced children's perspectives on societal and environmental tradeoffs of AI use, as well as their sense of agency and responsibility. Taken together, these findings suggest opportunities for broadening AI literacy to include systems-level reasoning about AI's environmental impact.

Figures & tables

Figure 1. Footprint Calculator interface, including (1) user prompt entry box, (2) an "Ask AI" button that submits the prompt to the model, (3) an output box in which the AI’s response is displayed, (4) a display of the last prompt’s estimated water, carbon, and energy costs, and (5) a display of the total water, carbon, and energy costs across the session, with status-bar style indicators of cumulative use.
Figure 2. Farm game interface showing (1) initial welcome screen, (2-4) gameplay across three levels. In each level, players face various challenges. For example, in (4), pest attacks introduce critical decision points where players can use AI to make crop protection more manageable as levels progress.
Figure 3. Tutorial illustrating the AI query lifecycle and its environmental consequences in EcoPrompt, demonstrating how a user prompt travels from a personal device to a data center that consumes electricity, resulting in carbon emissions.
Figure 4. An illustration of crops growing as a result of players’ attention to planting, watering, and harvesting them.
Figure 5. An illustration of the game panel at the start of the first level, showing (1) the sidebar displaying the lake health with a status log communicating changes to the player, (2) the main array of tools available to the player, including the planting and watering tools, and (3) the inventory and notifications panel.
Figure 6. The interface for level 2 of the Farm Game, showing (1) the overall UI, (2) the AI Farm Hand button, (3) the Farmer’s Almanac button, (4) the Farmer’s Almanac hint message displayed after pressing the button, (5) the AI Farm Hand interface, (6) an AI Usage Warning displayed before sending the user’s message to the AI Farm Hand, and (7) the response generated by the AI Farm Hand, suggesting what to plant. Levels 3 and 4 retain the Farm Hand and Almanac buttons.
Figure 7. An illustration of the pest control scenario encountered in Level 3, showing (1) the animated pests the player must remove from the crops, (2) the pest removal minigame triggered by clicking on the pest sprite, and (3) the pest control interaction with the AI Farm Hand, which can remove a pest at the cost of some of the player’s natural resources.
NameAgeGenderAI TypeAI Use Context(s)Use FrequencyAI Uses Resources?AI Affects Environment?
Lina6GirlVoice Assistants, Video game AIFFew times/weekYesMaybe a little
Nadia9GirlVoice AssistantsF, SDailyYesYes a lot
Ravi7BoyVoice Assistants, Video game AIF, SDailyNot sureNot sure
Leo8BoyVoice Assistants, Video game AIF, SDailyYesMaybe a little
Arjun10BoyVoice Assistants, ChatbotsF, SDailyYesMaybe a little
Miles11BoyI don’t use AI--YesYes a lot
Table 1. Reported Child Participant Details (all names are pseudonyms). AI Use Context codes: F=Use with friends or family; S=Self.
Figure 8. Child participants in the KidsTeam UW co-design group play the Farm Game.
Figure 9. Children’s illustrations of their understanding of how AI consumes energy. Illustration (1) traces energy consumption due to local AI use to a powerplant and then to renewable energy sources. Illustration (2) traces AI use to power lines fueled by solar energy. To improve readability, the text shown below each drawing reflects the child’s own written explanation, digitized by the research team while preserving the child’s original wording.
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