AIs Growing Environmental Footprint Unveiled

The rapid advancement and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) bring immense potential, but also growing concerns about its environmental impact. As AI systems like ChatGPT become more powerful and widespread, their energy and resource consumption is coming under scrutiny.

Key Takeaways:

• The United Arab Emirates recently became the first nation to offer ChatGPT Plus free to all citizens, signaling a trend of wider AI integration.
• OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is actively building AI infrastructure in the United States and the UAE, and has announced intentions to partner with more countries through its “OpenAI for Countries program.”
• This expansion has energy advocates sounding alarms about AI's already substantial environmental toll, which could lead to severe consequences.

Recently, the United Arab Emirates made headlines by providing free access to ChatGPT Plus, the premium, more capable version of ChatGPT, to its entire populace. This version offers faster responses, voice conversation capabilities, file analysis, and image generation.

This initiative is part of a larger strategy for OpenAI. CEO Sam Altman lauded the UAE project as a “bold vision,” as reported by Axios. The ambition to globally integrate AI, making it increasingly indispensable, is even more radical. But this raises a critical question: can our planet sustain such growth?

Concerns are mounting over the vast amounts of natural resources AI consumes, from depleting water reservoirs to demanding enormous energy supplies. Politicians, business leaders, and climate advocates are now grappling with these unfolding consequences.

Traffic on Interstate 35 passes a Microsoft data center, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in West Des Moines, Iowa. Microsoft has been amassing a cluster of data centers to power its cloud computing services for more than a decade. | Charlie Neibergall, Associated Press

AI Development Ramps Up Starting In Texas

Approximately 34% of Americans already use AI for some daily activities, according to polling from tech monitor Elf Sight. This demonstrates early AI adoption, especially considering ChatGPT, which ignited the current AI craze, only launched in 2022.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who became a billionaire following ChatGPT's success, was reportedly a significant donor to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and attended his inauguration. The day after, Altman publicly thanked the president for a $500 billion investment into “Stargate,” a project to develop AI infrastructure in the U.S.

“For (AI) to get built here, to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, to create a new industry centered here, we wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President, and I’m thrilled that we get to,” Altman stated, per ABC News.

Since that announcement, the Trump administration has channeled hundreds of millions in federal funding into Stargate, co-developed by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. Thousands of acres near Abilene, Texas, are designated for this development, according to The Dallas Express.

There's no official word yet on Stargate's potential impact on Texas's energy grid—which experienced failures during natural disasters in the preceding year—or on the environment of a state already 41% under drought conditions. Despite these concerns, many in Texas and national leaders anticipate significant economic expansion. The UAE is also set to receive its own Stargate project through its OpenAI deal.

OpenAI reports that following its “unprecedented investment” in American infrastructure, many countries have petitioned for AI integration, seeking personalized digital services tailored to regional needs. The OpenAI for Countries program aims to meet this demand, but researchers warn it may not be environmentally sustainable.

The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone in front of an image generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. | Michael Dwyer, Associated Press

The Environmental Toll Of A ChatGPT Query

“Just because this is called ‘cloud computing’ doesn’t mean the hardware lives in the cloud. Data centers (for AI) are present in our physical world ... they have direct and indirect implications for biodiversity,” cautioned Noman Bashir, a climate researcher at MIT.

Generative AI reportedly consumes a bottle of water for every 100-word email it generates. The electricity demand for AI like ChatGPT, Siri, and Alexa is approaching the levels of entire countries like Russia, according to MIT research. ChatGPT alone uses enough electricity daily to power the Empire State Building for a year and a half. Training these AI models also requires tremendous amounts of fossil fuels.

Energy needs are escalating. The Harvard Business Review notes that data centers—physical facilities like the planned 900-acre Stargate facility in Texas—account for 2%-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The world's data volume doubles roughly every two years.

“There is still much we don’t know about the environmental impact of AI but some of the data we do have is concerning,” said Golestan Radwan, head of a United Nations environment agency. “We need to make sure the net effect of AI on the planet is positive before we deploy the technology at scale.”

Radwan’s agency advises countries to start tracking AI’s environmental footprint, as most currently lack standards. They also advocate for sustainability regulations around AI and urge tech companies to streamline programs and recycle components and water.

Researchers are working on “green” AI—sustainable or “net zero” AI—to minimize carbon footprints. However, they warn that green AI might compromise efficiency; smarter AI tends to use more energy.

Legislative actions are also in motion. Earlier in May, a Republican-led tax bill proposed barring states from regulating AI for the next decade. This contrasts with over 100 AI-related regulations passed by state legislatures last year, which this tax bill would override.

“We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off,” Vice President JD Vance remarked at a Paris summit. “And I’d like to see that deregulatory flavor making a lot of the conversations this conference.”

Your Role In Greener AI Usage

Researchers at the Harvard Business Review offer several ways individuals can reduce their AI-related environmental impact:

• Use existing AI—don’t make your own program. Training new AI models is energy-intensive. Numerous AI programs are already available, many free and tailored to specific needs.
• Use AI only when you really need it. While machine learning is valuable for scientific breakthroughs, its use for tasks like writing emails or answering simple questions might be “depleting the Earth’s health more than ... helping its people,” according to Harvard researchers.
• Use companies committed to using renewable energy for AI. Some companies are more energy-efficient. For instance, OpenAI plans to use solar energy for Stargate. In a related effort, Microsoft has committed to using AI to develop sustainable energy solutions.