At Cannes 2025, Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy spoke with James Rowe, Managing Director at adam&eveDDB New York and other thought leaders, who raised concerns about the ad industry’s rapid embrace of AI without fully considering its environmental impact.

As brands chase efficiency, scale, and automation, sustainability and corporate responsibility are slipping down the priority list. Rowe noted that CSR has become “less important over time” as short-term gains take center stage. With AI requiring massive energy and water resources , he believes it’s time for the industry to start balancing innovation with responsibility. “It’s the conversation that needs to happen next.” Sure, the reckoning may not be urgent, but the shift in mindset should start now.

Read more in Digiday here.