The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has brought many conveniences to society, but it has also caused people to worry about its environmental impact. In particular, the high energy consumption and carbon emissions of generative AI have become increasingly prominent, and its energy consumption is growing at an alarming rate, posing a potential threat to climate change. However, AI does not only bring negative impacts, it also contains huge potential to combat climate change.
As the field of AI continues to develop, people have begun to worry about the impact of AI on the earth, especially its high energy consumption and carbon emissions. The latest research shows that generative AI queries are more energy-intensive than traditional search engine requests, consuming four to five times the energy of traditional operations. In particular, image generation tasks require much more energy than text-based operations. According to research from Morgan Stanley, the energy demand of generative AI will grow by 70% annually, and by 2027, generative AI may consume as much energy as Spain required in 2022. This increased energy consumption leads to higher carbon emissions, potentially further worsening climate change.
Daily queries on AI are expected to increase significantly, as chatbots and image generators gain popularity, so will the adoption of generative models and competition from tech companies. However, AI may also be our best hope for combating man-made climate change. With 400 million people living in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate change, the United Nations has projects in countries such as Burundi, Chad and Sudan to use AI to help these communities. Additionally, AI systems are helping to combat climate change by making waste management more efficient. London-based software startup Greyparrot, for example, has developed an AI system that analyzes waste treatment and recycling facilities to help them better recycle and reuse waste materials.
In addition, The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch environmental organization, uses AI and other technologies to clean up plastic pollution in the ocean. AI detection of objects helps the organization create detailed maps of marine debris in remote areas. Marine debris can then be collected and cleaned up more efficiently than previous cleanup methods using trawls and aircraft. Plastic pollution contributes to climate change by emitting greenhouse gases and harming nature. Google's AI research laboratory, Google DeepMind, said it is applying AI to help combat climate change in many areas.
All in all, the development of AI technology faces the dual challenges of energy consumption and environmental protection. How to strike a balance between AI development and environmental sustainability requires the joint efforts of technology companies, governments and all sectors of society to explore a greener and more sustainable AI development model. Only then can the benefits of AI be truly unleashed and create a better place for mankind. future.