MIT Technology Review has been named a finalist for a 2026 National Magazine Award in the reporting category by the American Society of Magazine Editors. The recognition highlights the publication’s deep investigation into the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, underscoring how energy use has become a central concern as the technology scales.
The shortlisted story, titled “We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard,” is part of the outlet’s Power Hungry package examining the energy burden of artificial intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is often described as a black box, and leading companies have kept figures on energy use closely guarded, which has made it difficult to assess its climate impact. In response, senior artificial intelligence reporter James O’Donnell and senior climate reporter Casey Crownhart conducted a six month investigation, reviewing hundreds of pages of reports, interviewing experts, and analyzing available data.
The reporting team broke down the energy cost of a single prompt to make the abstract problem more tangible, then expanded the analysis to show the broader potential impacts of artificial intelligence’s current and future energy demand. Their work detailed how large the energy footprint of artificial intelligence systems has become, where that energy is sourced, and who ultimately bears the cost. In the months after the project was published, major artificial intelligence companies including Open AI, Mistral, and Google released new information about their models’ energy and water usage, signaling a shift toward greater transparency. The 2026 awards will be presented in New York City on May 19.
