Generative AI and Climate Change Are on a Collision Course
In 2025, AI and climate change, two of the biggest societal disruptors we're facing, will collide. These range from generating colossal amounts of energy to power the data centers that run tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney to the millions of gallons of freshwater that are pumped through these data centers to make sure they don’t overheat and the tons of rare earth metals needed to build the hardware they contain. The tech companies that are increasingly adding generative AI models to everything from search engines to text-processing software are also not disclosing the carbon cost of these changes—we still don't know how much energy is used during a conversation with ChatGPT or when generating an image with Google’s Gemini. Much of the discourse from Big Tech around AI’s environmental impacts has followed two trajectories: Either it’s not really an issue, or an energy breakthrough will come along and magically fix things. What we really need is more transparency around AI’s environmental impacts, by way of voluntary initiatives like the AI Energy Star project that I’m leading, which would help users compare the energy efficiency of AI models to make informed decisions.
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