SUxTAIN is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research initiative exploring the unsustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) and its wide-ranging impacts on nature, including culture. The group brings together perspectives from law, technology, humanities, and the social sciences to critically examine how AI reshapes ecological, social, and cultural systems.
Moving beyond traditional nature–culture dichotomies, SUxTAIN adopts a posthumanist perspective on sustainability as a relational condition in which technology, environment, and culture are co-constitutive forces. By “Nature,” we refer to humans, nonhumans, ecosystems, and both built and digital infrastructures that form part of the Earth. By “culture,” we understand the systems of meaning, practice, and value through which humans and nonhumans alike shape and interpret the world, including law, technology, institutions, and collective ways of living.
As the AI boom accelerates, the foundations of sustainability are increasingly challenged. While “green” operational practices in data centers may achieve limited forms of environmental mitigation, AI’s broader ecological, social, and cultural footprint—from energy and resource extraction to data governance, discrimination, and transformations of knowledge production—demands a critical and interdisciplinary response. SUxTAIN seeks to contribute to this response by fostering new conceptual and normative approaches to sustainability in the age of AI.
The two-day event–featuring one day of thematic seminars and one day dedicated to a Ph.D. workshop–will formally mark the launch of SUxTAIN and serve as a meeting point for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and civil society actors concerned with AI and sustainability.
Please note that participation is free of charge, but attendance is limited to registered and accepted participants only, as we have a limited number of seats.
The event is developed in collaboration with multiple agents and seeks to strengthen Nordic and European research and practice at the intersection of AI and sustainability.
Further details–including the full programme and practical information–will be published on this page shortly.
We warmly invite you to save the date and share this announcement with colleagues and networks who may be interested.
For further information, please contact Merima Bruncevic or Joana Pedroso
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07 May 2026 – SUxTAIN Conference (preliminary programme)
World of Volvo
08.30–08.50 Registration & light breakfast
08.50–09.00 Welcome notes & SUxTAIN launch
09.00–10.30 Panel I
09.00–09.45 Carl Syllow-Rynning, co-founder and software architect, Matic Tribe – AI software development from a developer perspective – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
09.50–10.35 Charlotta Kronblad, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Gothenburg, IT Faculty – There is no such thing as Ethical AI – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
10.35–10.50 Coffee break (15 min – coffee & tea)
10.50–12.30 Panel II
10.50–11.35 Mari Paananen, Professor, University of Gothenburg, Handelshögskolan – Do Firms Walk Their Talk? Examining Environmental Disclosures using LLMs – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
11.45–12.30 Lauro Valente, VP Head of Data and AI Adoption, Volvo Energy/Group – How to Focus on Sustainability When Intelligent Agentic Workforce Multiplies Faster than Governance Can Catch Up? – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
12.30–14.00 Lunch & network
14.00–15.30 Panel III
14.00–14.45 Joana Pedroso, senior lecturer in sustainable taxation, Department of Law, University of Gothenburg – The AI Curse: The Hidden Public Costs of the "AI Magic"? – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
14.45–15.30 Paula Westenberger, Senior Lecturer, Brunel University of London, Law Faculty – AI for Green X Green AI: An IP and Cultural rights Exploration – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
15.30–15.45 Coffee break (15 min)
15.45–17.15 Panel IV
15.45–16.30 Ida Koivisto, Professor, University of Helsinki, Law Faculty – Is Human a Sustainable Legal Technology? – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
16.30–17.15 Merima Bruncevic, Associate Professor/Docent, Department of Law, University of Gothenburg – Implementing Local In-House Large Language Models (LLMs) in Law Firms and the Future of Legal Office Workflows – 30 min presentation + 15 min Q&A
End 17.15
08 May 2026 – PhD Workshop
Exclusive for PhD Students
Call for papers below
*To be confirmed once texts are accepted.
09.15 Workshop 1
10.00-10.15 Coffee break
10.15 Workshop 2
11.00-11.15 Coffee break
11.15 Workshop 3
12.00 Lunch & end of sessions
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The SUxTAIN Research Group
Merima Bruncevic
Associate Professor of Law, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Department of Law.
Email: merima.bruncevic@law.gu.se
Joana Pedroso
Senior Lecturer (Sustainable Tax Law), School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Department of Law (Juridiska institutionen).
Email: joana.pedroso@law.gu.se
Amandip Sangha
Senior Researcher, The Climate and Environmental Research Institute NILU, Norway
Email: asan@nilu.no
Ida Koivisto
Professor of Law, University of Helsinki
Email: ida.koivisto@helsinki.fi
Paula Westenberger
Senior Lecturer, Brunel University of London
Email: paula.westenberger@brunel.ac.uk
