United States of AI Ethical Policy - Water Is Power: The Coming Water Crisis and the Promise of AI

A Civic Brief from Future in Common

Part of the series: The United States of AI: An Ethical Policy Platform for American Workers

Suggested Price: Pay What You Can ($5+ recommended)

What This Brief Covers:

Water is life—and power. As climate change intensifies droughts, floods, and infrastructure stress, artificial intelligence is already shaping how water is monitored, allocated, and priced. This civic brief explores the urgent intersection of AI, water justice, and climate resilience.

It makes the case for democratic water governance in the AI era—before life itself becomes collateral in the race for control.

What You’ll Learn:

• How AI is being used in water surveillance, agriculture, and utilities
• Why communities risk losing access and sovereignty without safeguards
• The geopolitical and environmental stakes of algorithmic water management
• Worker- and community-centered recommendations for public water systems

Who It’s For:

• Climate justice advocates and environmental educators
• Civic planners, local officials, and infrastructure leaders
• Voters in drought-prone, flood-prone, or water-scarce regions
• Anyone concerned with the future of access, equity, and sustainability

Why It Matters:

Water access is a human right—not a speculative asset or a tech experiment. But without ethical governance, AI could deepen water scarcity and inequality. It doesn’t have to be that way. With bold leadership, we can turn this crisis into a just and sustainable future.

Download includes:

PDF of the full civic brief formatted for easy sharing.

License & Use

This brief is copyrighted © 2025 by Deion Lemelle / Future in Common.

The ideas are meant to be shared, adapted, and built upon.

Please do not republish the full document without permission.

You’re welcome to cite, quote, or use the concepts with attribution.