Is generative AI bad for the environment? A computer scientist explains the carbon footprint of ChatGPT and its cousins
AI chatbots and image generators run on thousands of computers housed in data centers like this Google facility in Oregon. Tony Webster/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Generative AI is the hot new technology behind chatbots and image generators. But how hot is it making the planet? As an AI researcher, I often worry about the energy costs of building artificial intelligence models. The more powerful the AI, the more energy it takes. What does the emergence of increasingly more powerful generative AI models mean for society’s future carbon footprint? “Generative” refers to the ability of an AI algorithm to produce complex data.