Report: AI could increase energy use and accelerate climate disinformation

AI likely to increase energy use & accelerate climate misinformation. In US, there's already evidence life of coal-fired power plants being prolonged to meet rising energy demands of AI. In just 3y, AI servers could be consuming as much energy as Sweden https://t.co/nk995nLlYJ

— Dr Jill Belch (@JillBelch) March 7, 2024

Energy consumption and emissions

The report predicts that the growing demand for AI will result in an 80% increase in greenhouse gas emissions, even with energy efficiency measures. Doubling data centers to keep pace with the data industry artificial intelligence will be one of the main responsible for this increase.

9 Ways AI Is Helping Fight Climate Change

The power of artificial intelligence (AI) to process enormous amounts of data and help humans make decisions is transforming industries. As one of the world's most difficult challenges, combating climate change is another area where AI has transformational potential.

Climate misinformation

AI can make it easier to create and spread false information about people climate changes, making efforts to combat them even more difficult. The proliferation of deepfakes and other forms of disinformation can undermine trust in climate science and lead to political inaction.

Transparency and responsibility

To mitigate AI risks, the report calls for greater transparency about AI energy consumption and safeguards to monitor energy production. climate misinformation. Companies developing and using AI need to be open about its environmental and social impacts.

Opinions

Experts recognize the potential of AI to accelerate climate disinformation and increase energy consumption. However, they argue that AI can also be used to combat climate change, for example in climate modeling, environmental monitoring and optimizing energy systems.

AI is a powerful tool with the potential to influence the climate crisis in both positive and negative ways. It is crucial that the development and use of AI is guided by principles of sustainability and responsibility. Transparency and collaboration between the public and private sectors are essential to ensure AI is used for good.

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