An underdiscussed aspect of AI ethics takes center stage at upcoming conference
Irina Raicu is the director of the Internet Ethics program (@IEthics) at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Views are her own.
You might have noticed the multiplying headlines. If not, below are a few. And here is a striking statement from an article titled (in a rather understated way) “How to manage AI’s energy demand—today, tomorrow, and in the future”: “Remarkably, the computation power required for sustaining AI’s rise is doubling roughly every 100 days.”
To learn more about AI deployment, its environmental implications, and the related massive development of infrastructure in the U.S. and elsewhere, register now and join us on November 1st, either in person (at Santa Clara University) or via livestream, for a daylong conference—free and open to the public.
The agenda comprises six sessions: “AI’s Environmental Footprint—Development and Usage”; “AI and Water”; "Greening AI”; “AI for Sustainability”; “AI and the Environment: Business Implications”; and “AI, Regulation, and Environmental Law.”
The conference aims to bring together academics from a variety of disciplines, industry and government representatives, students, advocates, and more—providing insights and challenges to all who care about the ways in which technology can improve or worsen the conditions required for the common good.
Additional details and registration (which is required): https://www.scu.edu/ethics/events/ai-and-the-environment/
A sample of recent articles about AI’s environmental impact:
“North America sees 70% jump in data center supply in construction, CBRE report says”: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/north-america-sees-70-jump-data-center-supply-construction-cbre-report-says-2024-08-20/
“Power-hungry AI data centers are raising electricity bills and blackout risk”: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-08-12/california-data-centers-could-derail-clean-energy-goals
“OpenAI asked US to approve energy-guzzling 5GW data centers, report says”: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/openai-asked-us-to-approve-energy-guzzling-5gw-data-centers-report-says/
"A bottle of water per email: the hidden environmental costs of using AI chatbots": https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/18/energy-ai-use-electricity-water-data-centers/
“AI Is Taking Water from the Desert”: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/03/ai-water-climate-microsoft/677602/
“Data center emissions probably 662% higher than big tech claims. Can it keep us the ruse?" https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/15/data-center-gas-emissions-tech
"AI and Satellites Fight Climate Change and Restore Rainforests”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2024/03/13/ai-and-satellites-fight-climate-change-and-restore-rainforests/
“Bill Gates Says AI’s Green Benefits Will Outweigh Its Emissions”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2024/03/13/ai-and-satellites-fight-climate-change-and-restore-rainforests/
“Elon Musk’s New AI Data Center Raises Alarms Over Pollution”: https://time.com/7021709/elon-musk-xai-grok-memphis/
“U.S. tech giants are building dozes of data centers in Chile. Locals are fighting back”: https://restofworld.org/2024/data-centers-environmental-issues/
“China’s Hinterland Becomes a Critical Datascape”: https://www.noemamag.com/chinas-hinterland-becomes-a-critical-datascape/