In ChatGPT’s own words:
“ChatGPT can be both a friend and a challenge for the sustainability movement. As a friend, it offers tools for research, education, and promoting sustainable practices, helping to raise awareness and create solutions. However, the energy consumption of large-scale AI models raises concerns about their environmental impact. Balancing the benefits of AI for sustainability innovation with the need to reduce its carbon footprint is key. In the right context, ChatGPT can enhance the movement's effectiveness but must evolve to align with sustainability goals.”
ChatGPT says that balance is key but is balance enough? Does the potential benefits of AI balance out the very real damage that it causes?
Carbon dioxide emissions produced by ChatGPT are estimated to be over 8 tons per year which is more than twice what is produced by the average person. There is also a substantial use of freshwater - a resource that many say is already in crisis - that is required to run the data centers behind ChatGPT. This is just an estimate of one AI model and considering AI is being incorporated across industries and into companies these stats are but one small percentage of the impact as AI is an expanding industry with no current end in site. While some of these data centers are run using renewable energy sources there is limited information being provided externally - even the figures stated previously are only potential estimates.
ChatGPT may be a tool for research and education of sustainability but it hardly seems to balance out the increasing negative environmental impact on a planet already struggling. Climate activists continue to attempt to not only reduce future impact but to work on solutions to reverse some of the damage done to the world we call home. Companies like OpenAI, ChatGPT, and other AI-centered companies need to take a close look at what their negative environmental impact is versus what they are doing to aid the sustainability movement.