Artificial intelligence is commonly blamed for driving up energy use and worsening climate change, but recent research suggests its overall impact on global emissions is surprisingly small. The findings even point to potential environmental and economic advantages as AI continues to expand.
Researchers from the University of Waterloo and the Georgia Institute of Technology analyzed data from across the U.S. economy alongside estimates of how widely AI is getting used in several industries. Their goal was to grasp what might occur to energy use and emissions if AI adoption keeps growing at its current pace.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that 83 percent of the U.S. economy still relies on fossil fuels like petroleum, coal and natural gas, all of which produce greenhouse gases when burned. The researchers found that AI-related electricity use within the U.S. is comparable to the entire energy consumption of Iceland. Even so, this increase is just too small to significantly affect emissions on the national or global level.
Local Effects Near Data Centers
“It is crucial to notice that the rise in energy use will not be going to be uniform. It should be felt more within the places where electricity is produced to power the info centers,” said Dr. Juan Moreno-Cruz, a professor within the Faculty of Environment at Waterloo and Canada Research Chair in Energy Transitions. “When you take a look at that energy from the local perspective, that is a giant deal because some places could see double the quantity of electricity output and emissions. But at a bigger scale, AI’s use of energy won’t be noticeable.”
The study didn’t concentrate on how local economies is likely to be affected in regions where data centers are concentrated, however the broader findings remain encouraging.
AI as a Potential Climate Solution
“For individuals who consider that the usage of AI shall be a serious problem for the climate and think we must always avoid it, we’re offering a distinct perspective,” Moreno-Cruz said. “The results on climate are usually not that significant, and we will use AI to develop green technologies or to enhance existing ones.”
To succeed in these conclusions, Moreno-Cruz and fellow environmental economist Dr. Anthony Harding evaluated different sectors of the economy, the kinds of jobs inside them, and the way lots of those roles may very well be handled by AI.
The researchers plan to expand their evaluation to other countries to higher understand how AI adoption could influence energy use and emissions worldwide.
The study, “Watts and Bots: The Energy Implications of AI Adoption,” was published in Environmental Research Letters.