New findings challenge the widespread belief that AI is an environmental villain. By analyzing U.S. economic data and AI usage across industries, researchers discovered that AI’s energy consumption—while significant locally—barely registers at national or global scales. Even more surprising, AI could help accelerate green technologies rather than hinder them.
AI’s energy usage is less than previously thought | Waterloo News
Contrary to popular belief, new research finds that the use of artificial intelligence has a minimal effect on global greenhouse gas emissions and may actually benefit the environment and the
Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water, and Land Footprints
AI’s rapid growth drives huge energy, water, and land use, raising environmental and equity challenges across its global infrastructure.
Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water, and Land Footprints
AI’s rapid growth drives huge energy, water, and land use, raising environmental and equity challenges across its global infrastructure.
Google’s exponential path to climate-wrecking digital bloat
Google’s latest report reveals a completely unprecedented rise in energy consumption – more than any of us expected. Generative AI is a climate carbon bomb.
We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard.
The emissions from individual AI text, image, and video queries seem small—until you add up what the industry isn’t tracking and consider where it’s heading next.
How Americans View AI and Its Impact on Human Abilities, Society
Americans are worried about using AI more in daily life, seeing harm to human creativity and relationships. But they’re open to AI use in weather forecasting, medicine and other data-heavy tasks.
How much of a problem is AI’s water use?
AI’s water footprint is growing, but location and cooling technology make a difference.
Will AI really consume more electricity than the US produces? - Poynter
President Trump said AI could need nearly twice the nation’s electricity, but credible projections put its future share at no more than 25%
Ditch the niceties in AI prompts to save energy use, say researchers
A UN report warns of the rapid growth in AI energy consumption, but suggests users can improve efficiency by making prompts more concise
A Real Political Economy of Technology - The Ideas Letter
Two technological futures are competing for political and material priority: generative AI and the green transition. Benanav argues that while AI is marketed as a world-reordering breakthrough, its productivity gains…
Majority of US’s new AI datacenters to be built on drought-hit land
Guardian analysis finds facilities to be built in some of the driest areas as outcry grows over water needed to power AI
Irresponsible AI: big tech's influence on AI research and associated impacts
The accelerated development, deployment and adoption of artificial intelligence systems has been fuelled by the increasing presence of big tech in the AI field. This trend has been accompanied by growing ethical concerns and intensified societal and environmental impacts. This position paper argues that irresponsible AI development is strongly driven by big tech's influence and involvement in the field. First, we examine the growing and disproportionate influence of big tech in AI research and argue that its drive for scaling and general-purpose systems is fundamentally at odds with the responsible, ethical, and sustainable development of AI. Second, we review key current environmental and societal negative impacts of AI and trace their connections to big tech's influence. Third, we discuss the underlying economic forces driving big tech's actions. Finally, as a call to action, we invite AI researchers to counter big tech's influence in irresponsible AI development through strategies that build on the responsibility of implicated actors and collective action.
Irresponsible AI: big tech's influence on AI research and associated impacts
The accelerated development, deployment and adoption of artificial intelligence systems has been fuelled by the increasing presence of big tech in the AI field. This trend has been accompanied by growing ethical concerns and intensified societal and environmental impacts. This position paper argues that irresponsible AI development is strongly driven by big tech's influence and involvement in the field. First, we examine the growing and disproportionate influence of big tech in AI research and argue that its drive for scaling and general-purpose systems is fundamentally at odds with the responsible, ethical, and sustainable development of AI. Second, we review key current environmental and societal negative impacts of AI and trace their connections to big tech's influence. Third, we discuss the underlying economic forces driving big tech's actions. Finally, as a call to action, we invite AI researchers to counter big tech's influence in irresponsible AI development through strategies that build on the responsibility of implicated actors and collective action.
Air Pollution and the Public Health Costs of AI
A new study by Caltech and UC Riverside uncovers the hidden toll that AI exacts on health throughout its lifecycle, from chip manufacturing to data center operation.
Irresponsible AI: big tech’s influence on AI research and associated impacts
The accelerated development, deployment and adoption of artificial intelligence systems has been fuelled by the increasing presence of big tech in the AI field. This trend has been accompanied by growing ethical concerns and intensified societal and environmental impacts. This position paper argues that irresponsible AI development is strongly driven by big tech’s influence and involvement in the field. First, we examine the growing and disproportionate influence of big tech in AI research and argue that its drive for scaling and general-purpose systems is fundamentally at odds with the responsible, ethical, and sustainable development of AI. Second, we review key current environmental and societal negative impacts of AI and trace their connections to big tech’s influence. Third, we discuss the underlying economic forces driving big tech’s actions. Finally, as a call to action, we invite AI researchers to counter big tech’s influence in irresponsible AI development through strategies that build on the responsibility of implicated actors and collective action.
AI boom has caused same CO2 emissions in 2025 as New York City, report claims
Study author says tech companies are reaping benefits of artificial intelligence age but society is left to pay cost
