AI & THE ENVIRONMENT

HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS AFFECTING THE EARTH

- OLENA KAGUI

Today, AI is everywhere: Apple Intelligence is all the rage on iPhones and iPads, Google introduced AI Overviews for every search query, and there’s even Amazon Q, the AI assistant that helps you shop. While artificial intelligence had its humble beginnings about 70 years ago, completing tasks like playing checkers on its own, it now encompasses a wide range of technologies that analyze huge sets of data, detect patterns and trends, and even predict future outcomes. While the benefits of AI to society are promising, a brand-new concern is coming to light: AI has a large carbon footprint, requiring a lot of energy and water.

By 2026, the International Energy Agency predicts data centers—which power AI and cryptocurrency—could consume 4 percent of energy usage worldwide, the same amount of electricity required to power Japan. While there are ways to offset AI’s environmental toll, it will require widespread awareness and ongoing sustainability initiatives in order for us to use this advanced technology responsibly.

AI’s complex algorithms do an amazing job of analyzing data and performing tasks without requiring humans to program every step. However, this necessitates large data centers that use a significant amount of energy, which in turn produces heat that needs to be cooled down using a lot of water. According to a deep dive by Piktochart using the Machine Learning Emissions Calculator, every query or message you send to ChatGPT produces approximately 4.32 grams of CO2. Sending 16 queries uses the same amount of CO2 as boiling an electric kettle, while 139 queries is equivalent to one washing machine cycle. A researcher at the University of California, Shaolei Ren, calculated that as few as five ChatGPT searches uses enough water to fill a 16-ounce bottle.