EnerGPT. Human-AI collaboration tool to envision future scenarios and stimulate debate

This paper investigates the potential of generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) to support efforts toward energy justice and sustainability within the context of the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR), emphasising its role in facilitating inclusive energy transitions at the urban and community levels. Rooted in design research that explores how digital tools can contribute to sustainability goals, our work focuses on the unique capabilities of genAI to make complex, often inaccessible data and processes more understandable and actionable for designers engaged in the energy transition. Recognising the socio-technical nature of energy justice, we adopt an intersectional approach to explore how genAI can help visualise and address disparities in energy access across different communities. We present EnerGPT, a custom GPT-based conversational agent trained on a corpus of datasets, policy documents, academic articles, and reports related to energy communities, energy transition, and social justice. The tool was developed to support designers in accessing and interpreting relevant information, formulating interventions, and imagining future energy scenarios that prioritise justice and inclusivity. Alongside the development of EnerGPT, we also produced a set of guiding prompts to help users navigate its capabilities and generate targeted outputs. The paper reports on exploratory design sessions in which EnerGPT was used by interdisciplinary teams of designers tasked with developing place-based interventions to improve community participation in the energy transition. Our findings suggest that genAI tools like EnerGPT can enhance designers’ ability to uncover hidden dimensions of energy poverty, compare energy access conditions between communities, and articulate more inclusive solutions. Beyond demonstrating the tool's practical applications, we critically examine the limitations and ethical implications of relying on AI to interpret and represent social justice issues. We argue that while genAI can augment human creativity and expand design capacities, responsible use requires new literacies and critical awareness. This work ultimately contributes to envisioning new pathways for design practice in the 5IR era that foreground equity, participation, and systemic change.