New research challenges the common assumption that artificial intelligence places a heavy burden on the climate. The findings indicate that current levels of AI use have only a small impact on global greenhouse gas emissions and could even support both environmental progress and economic growth.
To investigate these effects, scientists from the University of Waterloo and the Georgia Institute of Technology merged data on the U.S. economic system with estimates of how widely AI is being adopted across different industries. This approach allowed them to project the potential environmental outcomes if AI continues to expand at its present pace.
Information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that 83 percent of the nation still relies on petroleum, coal and natural gas, fuels that release heat-trapping emissions when used. The researchers determined that although AI-related electricity consumption in the United States is comparable to the total energy use of Iceland, this amount remains too small to register meaningfully at the national or global level.
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