The ugly truth behind ChatGPT: AI is guzzling resources at planet-eating rates | Mariana Mazzucato
www.theguardian.com
Big tech is playing its part in reaching net zero targets, but its vast new datacentres are run at huge cost to the environment, says economics professor Mariana Mazzucato

Despite its name, the infrastructure used by the “cloud” accounts for more global greenhouse emissions than commercial flights. In 2018, for instance, the 5bn YouTube hits for the viral song Despacito used the same amount of energy it would take to heat 40,000 US homes annually.

Large language models such as ChatGPT are some of the most energy-guzzling technologies of all. Research suggests, for instance, that about 700,000 litres of water could have been used to cool the machines that trained ChatGPT-3 at Microsoft’s data facilities.

Additionally, as these companies aim to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, they may opt to base their datacentres in regions with cheaper electricity, such as the southern US, potentially exacerbating water consumption issues in drier parts of the world.

Furthermore, while minerals such as lithium and cobalt are most commonly associated with batteries in the motor sector, they are also crucial for the batteries used in datacentres. The extraction process often involves significant water usage and can lead to pollution, undermining water security. The extraction of these minerals are also often linked to human rights violations and poor labour standards. Trying to achieve one climate goal of limiting our dependence on fossil fuels can compromise another goal, of ensuring everyone has a safe and accessible water supply.

Moreover, when significant energy resources are allocated to tech-related endeavours, it can lead to energy shortages for essential needs such as residential power supply. Recent data from the UK shows that the country’s outdated electricity network is holding back affordable housing projects.

In other words, policy needs to be designed not to pick sectors or technologies as “winners”, but to pick the willing by providing support that is conditional on companies moving in the right direction. Making disclosure of environmental practices and impacts a condition for government support could ensure greater transparency and accountability.

  • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.worldEnglish
    235·
    6 months ago

    This is what pisses me off so much about the climate crisis. People tell me not to use my car, but then microsoft just randomly blow out 30% more co2 for AI

    • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.worldEnglish
      22·
      6 months ago

      We need better carbon (and equivalents) accounting, and knowledge of equivalents.

      E.g. Turning 60 people vegetarian = having 1 baby.

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        The current metric is equivalent tons of CO2, and I think we actually do have numbers for that on vegetarian vs omnivorous vs heavy meat diets.

        A bit harder to quantify for a human life though, certainly. We are able to at least convert methane emissions to a CO2 equivalent

        • LengAwaits@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          6 months ago

          We recommend four widely applicable high-impact (i.e. low emissions) actions with the potential to contribute to systemic change and substantially reduce annual personal emissions: having one fewer child (an average for developed countries of 58.6 tonnes CO2-equivalent (tCO2e) emission reductions per year), living car-free (2.4 tCO2e saved per year), avoiding airplane travel (1.6 tCO2e saved per roundtrip transatlantic flight) and eating a plant-based diet (0.8 tCO2e saved per year). These actions have much greater potential to reduce emissions than commonly promoted strategies like comprehensive recycling (four times less effective than a plant-based diet) or changing household lightbulbs (eight times less).

          https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541/pdf

    • masterspace@lemmy.caEnglish
      28·
      6 months ago

      Cars collectively emit far more carbon than ChatGPT, and ChatGPT is only going to get more optimized from here.

      Ultimately the answer should be in a heavy carbon tax, rather than having a divine ruler try and pick and choose where it’s worth it to spend carbon.

      • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.worldEnglish
        31·
        6 months ago

        Part of why right wing politics are becoming so popular again is that so many politicians shove the financial responsibility of cutting carbon onto the normal population. My point is that it feels useless to cut my own emission as long as massive corporations can just randomly emitt way more without consequence. Also, microsoft use electricity for more that just chatgpt.

        • Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          2·
          6 months ago

          Look up how much pollution is made from the massive shipping boats when they get into international waters and start burning bilge oil.

        • masterspace@lemmy.caEnglish
          12·
          6 months ago

          You know that Microsoft doesn’t just sit there and burn electricity for fun right?

          Microsoft data centers are doing what consumers ask them to do. They are burning data at the request of users, no different than your personal PC.

          Actually the main difference is that he computers in their data centers are far more energy efficient than your PC.

            • masterspace@lemmy.caEnglish
              1·
              6 months ago

              So then you realize that it’s not Microsoft burning that electricity, but individual consumers?

              • ichbinjasokreativ@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                6 months ago

                I’d still blame microsoft for shoving AI down peoples throats. Search something on bing (or google for that matter) and you get an AI response, even if you don’t want it. It’s the choice of these corporations.

                • masterspace@lemmy.caEnglish
                  2·
                  6 months ago

                  You’re really trying yourself in knots to try and blame the big bad corpos and no one else.

                  Yes they are shoving it in people’s faces, and when the average person uses their default browser with a default search engine and searches on Bing and it uses AI in addition to a search index they are to blame, but every single user who intentionally seeks out ChatGPT or Copilot is also to blame.

                  It’s a new technology, people are going to use it and burn energy with it and then eventually we will make a more efficient version of it as it matures, similar to everything else, including traditional search.