Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way people do things, but it comes with an environmental cost. Some people find AI helpful and convenient, while others find it intrusive and forced upon them.
AI changed the education sphere in 2022, transforming the way work is done. Recently, new studies have been published that highlight the environmental costs associated with the increasing prevalence of AI in our lives. Last year, there was an increase in the use of AI worldwide, coinciding with the release of newer, more powerful models. According to Adam Zewe at MIT News, scientists have stated that training an AI model consumes a large amount of energy and releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide.
“Scientists from Google and the University of California at Berkeley estimated the training process alone consumed 1,287 megawatt hours of electricity (enough to power about 120 average U.S. homes for a year, generating about 552 tons of carbon dioxide),” Zewe said.
“It takes a lot of energy and water to cool down these AI [datafarms],” senior Maria Pizzutelli said. “Half of the energy used in the US is from fossil fuels.”
Another factor to consider is the potential for AI to be forced upon people, according to Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science teacher and biology teacher Ann Akey.
“If I do a search on my cell phone, the AI answer pops up first,” Akey said. “I don’t want it.”
According to the National Education Association (NEA), training one large AI model consumes approximately five times the lifetime emissions of the average car.
For each kilowatt hour of energy a [search engine] data center consumes, it would need two liters of water for cooling, according to Adam Zewe at MIT News. whereas an AI Data center uses up to nine liters of water per kilowatt-hour of energy consumed for cooling, according to the Environmental Energy Study Institute.
Additionally, these AI data centers have an impact on their surroundings, particularly the water supply.
“The water usage is horrible, especially for the [homes] nearby, because their water pressure is down,” Pizzutelli said. “They have no water. Their tap is dirty because it’s being recirculated [through datacenters].”
Another waste product produced by data centers is spent servers and other hazardous electronics, which often contain hazardous substances, such as mercury and lead, according to the UN Environmental Protection Agency.
Additionally, the growing demand for AI is actively working against the race towards clean energy.
“In a time where we’re trying to meet our energy needs without fossil fuels, we’re really expanding our energy needs,” Akey said.
The progress made thus far in transitioning to clean energy is being undone by the emergence of new energy demands.
“I think we’re only just starting to envision what AI could do,” Akey said.
