Companies are praising AI the same way they talked about sustainability, but there are ways to fix that

“Artificial intelligence” has become the buzzword of choice in corporate earnings calls, investor presentations and marketing pitches. But behind the hype lies a disturbing pattern. Many claims vastly overstate the true state of AI development and mislead people about its true capabilities, future outcomes, and potential harm.

A case in point is the recent 600% increase in Allbirds’ share price after the once-trendy sustainable footwear company made a vague announcement in April 2026 that it would be switching to AI. In the coming months, the company plans to rename itself NewBird AI and abandon its status as a nonprofit corporation.

As a scholar who studies corporate sustainability, I see parallels between this “AI washing” phenomenon – when companies overstate the benefits of AI while hiding the risks – and the greenwashing trend in the recent past, when companies claimed to be committed to sustainability but failed to make fundamental changes. Widespread deception was…