Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT and Beyond: AI: Environmental Impact

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems, especially large language models and data centers, require significant amounts of electricity and water to operate—raising concerns about their environmental impact. At the same time, AI can be used to help reduce energy waste, optimize power grids, and even improve water management, offering potential benefits for sustainability.  Below:  A couple of blog posts, articles, a government report. 

Daisy, Tim. April 25, 2025  Ai & Climate: Seeing the Forest, Not just the kilowatt-hours.  Sweet Grapes. https://timdasey.substack.com/p/ai-and-climate-seeing-the-forest?r=2haeis

Furze, Leon.  May 12, 2025. Teaching AI Ethics 2025: Envrionment

Implications of Artificial Intelligence - Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions:  Proceedings of a Workshop (2025).  National Academies Press.  Availlable at https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/29101/implications-of-artificial-intelligence-related-data-center-electricity-use-and-emissions 

Ippolito, Jon.  "What Uses More?"  An app to help think about AI's environmental footprint.  "The numbers come from academic papers and industry reports, compiled in a public Google Sheet. It only includes current usage, not projections or deeper environmental effects, and doesn’t cover broader risks like misinformation or labor issues that I cover with the IMPACT RISK framework."

Masley, Andy. (2025, April 27)  Why using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment. Substack.   https://substack.com/home/post/p-162196004

Ritchie, Hannah. (2025, May 5). What's the carbon footprint of using ChatGPT?  Sustainability by numbers.  https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/carbon-footprint-chatgpt 

United States Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) Report: Artificial Intelligence: Generative AI’s Environmental and Human Effects (April 22, 2025) - https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-107172