If you’ve been scrolling social media over the past week, you may have noticed miniature action figure versions of friends, family, or colleagues neatly wrapped in a blister pack.
These plastic-fantastic portraits are the latest AI-powered photo trend to sweep the internet — especially LinkedIn. After digital avatars and Studio Ghibli-inspired selfies, we now have the action figure, produced using ChatGPT’s free image generator.
It’s all fun and games, right? But look closer, and behind the gloss and giggles lies some pretty crucial fine print. With this action figure, sustainability is not included.
Mel Morris, the founder of research engine Corpora.ai and former chairman of Candy Crush creator King, has slammed the environmental costs.
“The LinkedIn action figure trend and its demand on GPUs is obviously unsustainable,” he said.
Some researchers estimate that using AI to generate text consumes 20-30 times more energy than a traditional search, depending on the model. Creating AI-generated images from written prompts uses at least double that amount, according to data from HuggingFace.
“GPUs aren’t infinite,” said Morris. “They come at a carbon cost, and this kind of casual overuse shows how disconnected we’ve become from the true costs associated with these tools.”
Energy use from data centres, including for AI applications, is predicted to double over the next five years to 3% of global energy use, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest figures. Globally, almost half of that power is predicted to come from burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
“As a technologist, I believe in the power of AI, but not at any cost,” said Morris. “If we want sustainable innovation, then we need to learn what genuine progress looks and feels like — I’m willing to bet that it’s not the dopamine hit after posting your AI-made figurine.”
AI and sustainability feature heavily on the agenda of TNW Conference, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam. Tickets for the event are now on sale. Use the code TNWXMEDIA2025 at the check-out to get 30% off the price tag.