CO2 emissions are a huge problem, of course. But it is not specific to AI. Data centers are starting to become a significant factor of energy consumption but I think it will stay very manageable compared to other consumers and given the utility it provides. And since data centers luckily natively require electricity, it is much easier, compared to e.g. transportation, to switch them to renewables. And renewables are very often already the cheapest source of energy anyways.
So I think AI is just another thing that humans do that requires energy, and it comes with the same tradeoffs (the utility vs. the cost of sourcing that energy). So in my opinion we should mainly focus on accelerating the transition to green energy.
Imagine this trend line increasing a bit more rapidly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_in_the_atmosphere_of_Earth
CO2 emissions are a huge problem, of course. But it is not specific to AI. Data centers are starting to become a significant factor of energy consumption but I think it will stay very manageable compared to other consumers and given the utility it provides. And since data centers luckily natively require electricity, it is much easier, compared to e.g. transportation, to switch them to renewables. And renewables are very often already the cheapest source of energy anyways. So I think AI is just another thing that humans do that requires energy, and it comes with the same tradeoffs (the utility vs. the cost of sourcing that energy). So in my opinion we should mainly focus on accelerating the transition to green energy.
Here’s a good overview about AI carbon emissions I just found: https://www.carbonbrief.org/ai-five-charts-that-put-data-centre-energy-use-and-emissions-into-context/
I expected it to be worse. And the org seems trustworthy. Though that’s a tough topic to trust any source, considering the amount of money involved.