Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming our daily lives—from helping doctors diagnose illnesses to recommending what show to watch next. But while these tools can make life easier, they also require a lot of energy to run. That means they have a hidden environmental cost. This article takes a closer look at the ways AI is both helping and hurting the planet, and what we can do about it

The Carbon Cost of AI

Training AI Takes Tons of Power

Teaching an AI how to understand language or recognise images means running computers for weeks or even months. For example, training GPT-3 (the model behind ChatGPT) used more than 1,200 megawatt-hours of electricity—enough to power over 100 U.S. homes for a year.

Every Use Adds Up -Even after training, using AI still takes energy. Every time you ask a chatbot a question or get music suggestions from an app, computers work behind the scenes to make it happen. With millions of users, those little energy costs add up quickly.

Data Centres: The Homes of AI – AI runs in huge data centres—massive buildings packed with computers. These centres need electricity for the machines and air conditioning to keep them cool. Some are switching to clean energy, but many still rely on fossil fuels.

Building AI Hardware Isn’t Free – Making the chips and servers that run AI means mining for rare minerals, using water, and consuming electricity. This can harm the environment and deplete natural resources.

The Positive Side: How AI Can Help the Plane

Helping Scientists Study Climate Change

Artificial intelligence helps researchers make sense of massive amounts of data—from ocean temperatures to storm patterns. That means better climate predictions and faster responses to environmental threats.

Saving Energy at Home and Work

Artificial intelligence can make buildings smarter by adjusting lighting, heating, and cooling automatically. It can also forecast when solar panels will work best or help factories use less energy. Click here for more ways to create a sustainable household

Holding Companies Accountable

AI tools can track pollution and carbon emissions, helping businesses see where they can improve. They also spot when companies are exaggerating their green efforts—a practice known as “greenwashing.”

Protecting Nature with Technology

This technology helps conservationists track deforestation, monitor endangered animals, and see how landscapes are changing using satellite images. This allows for quicker action to protect nature.

Real-World Success Stories

• Google used AI to cut energy use in its data centres by 40%¹.
• BM’s Green Horizon project ²in China uses Artificial intelligence to predict air pollution and guide cleaner energy use.
• On the downside, training a large AI model like BERT can create as much carbon pollution as five cars do in their entire lifetime.

Ethics, Fairness, and the Bigger Picture

We Need Openness

Right now, artificial intelligence is reshaping the world, but we don’t always know its true impact. Many tech companies keep quiet about how much energy their AI systems use. Training massive AI models takes a huge amount of power, yet without transparency, it’s hard to measure the environmental cost—or find better solutions.

Imagine if AI companies openly shared their energy data. Researchers could use that information to design more efficient technology. Governments could create policies that encourage sustainability. Communities could have a voice in the conversation about how AI affects their surroundings. Honesty isn’t just good ethics—it leads to smarter, greener innovation.

Sharing the Benefits

AI is an incredible tool, but it isn’t benefiting everyone equally. Wealthier nations and big tech firms gain the most, using AI to drive business, research, and automation. Meanwhile, poorer countries often bear the hidden costs—pollution from energy-intensive data centers, resource extraction, and electronic waste.

If AI is going to shape the future, it needs to work for everyone. That means fairer access to AI-powered solutions, investment in sustainable infrastructure worldwide, and policies that prevent big corporations from offloading environmental damage onto communities that can least afford it. When AI helps rather than harms, it has the power to uplift economies, improve healthcare, and tackle global challenges together.

Making Greener AI

AI is meant to make life easier, but what if it could also make the planet healthier? Green AI is a growing movement focused on building artificial intelligence that is efficient and environmentally responsible.

Many AI models are energy-hungry, requiring massive amounts of computing power. Green AI takes a different approach:

• Creating smaller, optimised models that require less energy to run.
• Using renewable energy sources to power data centres.
• Improving algorithms so AI can learn faster and more efficiently, reducing wasteful processing.

AI should be more than just powerful—it should be sustainable. The goal isn’t just to minimize harm, but to design AI that actively helps fight climate change. If we build smarter systems now, AI can be a force for good, making cities greener, industries more efficient, and the future brighter.

Solutions and What We Can All Do

Design Smarter AI

Researchers are working on Artificial Intelligence that needs fewer resources, doing more with less. That reduces energy use and carbon emissions.

Build Greener Tech

Companies like Microsoft and Google are investing in renewable energy for their data centers and building hardware that uses less power.

Rules and Incentives

Governments can help by setting clear guidelines and offering rewards for companies that use clean energy or create low-impact AI tools.

How You Can Help

Even if you’re not an AI developer, your choices matter. You can:

• Choose apps and services that care about sustainability.
• Support companies that are open about their environmental impact.
• Avoid unnecessary use of energy-heavy tools.
• Stay informed and ask questions about how your tech is made.

Small changes by lots of people can make a big difference.

Conclusion

AI can be a powerful tool for good, but only if we use it wisely. While it’s helping solve big climate problems, it also has an environmental footprint of its own. By supporting smarter tech, clean energy, and sustainable choices, we can enjoy the benefits of artificial intelligence without sacrificing the health of our planet.

References

1. https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/deepmind-ai-reduces-google-data-centre-cooling-bill-by-40/ ↩︎
2. https://www.ibm.com/sustainability/environmental ↩︎