Consider the consequences of asking ChatGPT to write your next essay.
We’re constantly told Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the future. It’s all Elon Musk talks about lately, at least—that is, if there’s a future to look forward to.
But AI could slowly be eating away at our chance of a bright future—one where there are no snowy winters, long summers, or polar bears. Behind technological advancements like AI, there’s an environmental cost that few people are rushing to talk about.
The data centres powering AI consume enormous amounts of energy, leaving behind a massive carbon footprint. Every time you ask ChatGPT for help with meal prep—something that can easily be Googled—you’re utilizing a large network of servers that require huge amounts of electricity and water resources to keep it cool.
For example, Google revealed its gas emissions shot up by 48 per cent over the past five years because of data centres. We talk about how AI is the future and so innovative, yet we don’t acknowledge the fact it’s hurting our environment.
I, too, have been sucked into the world of ChatGPT like everyone else. I’m disturbed yet intrigued by the AI videos on my Explore page showing pints of ice cream turning into puppies. No one can resist having software explaining why we can’t print more money, or having an awkward sentence reworded for us. There’s no denying it’s a useful tool. But we must start asking if AI is worth it—if it’s worth risking our future just for us to use a little less brain power.
I’m not saying AI is evil, nor falling into a Science Fiction conspiracy about how killer robots will take over the world while we’re sleeping (though, with some of the Silicon Valley robots I’ve seen, that idea isn’t much of a reach).
I’m for technological progress. But with every tech advancement we make, we need to ask if this technology is sustainable and what impact it’ll have on the planet and the people who are most vulnerable.
We already see the dark side of technology. Cobalt used in batteries to power whatever device you’re reading this on is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, under slavery and environmental degradation. We must rethink adding new tech that brings more problems when we have yet to solve the ones in front of us.
The solution isn’t abandoning AI altogether, but we can minimize how much we use it. We should be more intentional with how we engage with it, at least until we find sustainable ways to use it.
Tech advancements shouldn’t come at the expense of the planet. I’d love to have a future where AI and sustainable technology are synonymous, but not if the world looks like a scene straight out of Wall-E (2008).
Uyanda is a fourth-year Global Development Studies student and a member of The Journal’s BIPOC Advisory Board.
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