Beyond the Hype: Systemic Risks and Governance Gaps of Agentic AI Across Global Power Structures
Original framing: “Tech Life” — BBC News - Technology
Empirical studies demonstrate that large‑scale agentic models can amplify bias, consume megawatts of electricity, and generate emergent behaviours unpredictable to developers. Robust scientific methodology—including reproducibility audits, impact assessments, and carbon accounting—is essential to quantify these externalities. Yet, many corporate labs bypass independent verification, limiting transparency.
Agentic AI sits at the convergence of historic technological disruption, entrenched power asymmetries, and emerging ecological crises, demanding a governance architecture that integrates Indigenous stewardship, cross‑cultural values, and rigorous scientific assessment.
By institutionalising community‑owned data trusts and an international treaty, we can redistribute agency from corporate monopolies to a pluralistic coalition of states, civil societies, and marginalized groups. Future modelling that couples AI deployment scenarios with climate projections will illuminate compound risks, guiding proactive policy rather than reactive mitigation. Embedding artistic‑spiritual interventions and trickster insights ensures that cultural imagination keeps pace with technical capability, fostering a resilient, inclusive AI ecosystem.