Generative artificial intelligence uses massive amounts of energy for computation and data storage and billions of gallons of water to cool the equipment at data centers. Now, legislators and regulators — in the U.S. and the EU — are starting to demand accountability.

A.I. use is directly responsible for carbon emissions from non-renewable electricity and for the consumption of millions of gallons of fresh water, and it indirectly boosts impacts from building and maintaining the power-hungry equipment on which A.I. runs.

As tech companies seek to embed high-intensity A.I. into everything from resume-writing to kidney transplant medicine and from choosing dog food to climate modeling, they cite many ways A.I. could help reduce humanity’s environmental footprint. But legislators, regulators, activists, and international organizations now want to make sure the benefits aren’t outweighed by A.I.’s mounting hazards.

  • @BroBot9000English
    7•9 months ago

    If only we could pass green energy laws and ban fossil fuels.

    Nobody complaining about how much energy google or Facebook servers are taking.

    Nobody complaining about how much energy 24 lights at a bank use, or how much power billboard ads consume.

    No, the way we generate electricity is only an issue when it comes to powering AI and cryptocurrency. Then it’s a massive waste and bad for the environment. Fucking hypocrites.