Artificial intelligence is contributing to an enormous increase in emissions

Googlove emisije toplogrednih plinov so bile leta 2023 za 48 % višje kot leta 2019, je podjetje razkrilo v svojem zadnjem okoljskem poročilu za leto 2024. Google navaja: »To je posledica vse večjih potreb po energiji zaradi večje intenzivnosti računanja z umetno inteligenco«. Tehnološki velikan številko torej pripisuje ogromni količini energije, ki jo potrebujejo podatkovni centri, k čemur je pripomogla tudi eksplozivna rast umetne inteligence. 

AI-powered services require a huge amount of computing power and therefore electricity (compared to standard online activities), which has sparked a wave of warnings about the technology's impact on the environment.

Google's goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030, but they admit that "with the continued integration of artificial intelligence into products, reducing emissions could be a big challenge."

Podatkovni centri so ogromne zbirke računalniških strežnikov in umetna inteligenca jih potrebuje veliko. Generativni sistem umetne inteligence, kot je ChatGPT, lahko po podatkih nedavne študije porabi približno 33-krat več energije kot stroji, ki za posamezne naloge uporabljajo programsko opremo.

The head of Britain's National Grid said in March that the combination of artificial intelligence and quantum computing will lead to a sixfold increase in demand for data centers and electricity over the next 10 years. Bill Gates says that the impact of artificial intelligence will not be as catastrophic as predicted. In a speech in London last week, he said that artificial intelligence will only increase electricity demand by 2 to 6 %.