In 2023, 2024, and 2025, Leonardo published a series of data-driven investigations uncovering the hidden impacts of widespread AI adoption, with alarming consequences, including Generative AI's tendency to excacerbate gender and racial biases, AI's disproportionate strain on global power grids, AI's worsening of power quality in people's homes, AI's threat to water stressed communities, and AI's upward pressure on customers' electricity prices.

Leonardo’s work on AI has been cited in reference to AI-policy recommendations at the local level, as well as in official policy frameworks about AI risk from national governments, international bodies such as the United Nations and IMF, and NGOs like Amnesty International. His work is referenced by tech executives of major companies like Microsoft, taught in university curriculums and books about AI, cited by hundreds of academic research papers, and used as a main reference for AI-best practices at numerous institutions like IBM and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2025, Leonardo also investigated US president Trump's cryptocurrency ventures and uncovered potential foreign ties through large scale data analysis. This work was immediately referenced in Senate hearings about the corruption of US Foreign Policy, cited by high-ranking politicians, and used as evidence in a congressional letter requesting an immediate investigation to determine whether the Trump crypto dinner violates the federal bribery statute or the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Leonardo is a 2025 recipient of the Gerald Loeb Awards, the highest honors in business journalism, for his investigative work on the hidden impacts of Artificial Intelligence. He is also a 2024 recipient of the Online Journalism Awards (OJAs), recognizing Excellence in Technology Reporting, and the Sigma Award, recognizing the best data journalism from around the world, for his work on Generative AI Bias.