Briefing: Thinking about using AI?

Here’s what you can and (probably) can’t change about its environmental impact.

Tech companies under reporting 660% of their emissions from data centers, driven by demand for AI compute?¹

Microsoft’s $30 billion dollar AI business with fossil-fuel companies?²

There’s lots to talk about regarding the environmental impacts of AI systems.

To help navigate this murky space, our latest briefing is intended for people with a responsibility for AI projects to understand the considerations around their direct negative environmental impact arising from AI. We cover what to be mindful of, what mitigating strategies are available today, and their limitations.

The report deep dives into five key areas of knowledge that we believe serve as a useful foundation when considering your direct impacts. These are:

1. There’s a large and growing environmental impact associated with AI adoption
2. Mass adoption of AI is jeopardising existing company sustainability goals
3. AI’s footprint can be measured estimated, but it’s an emerging discipline
4. Changing your choice of AI model and task impacts the footprint
5. Any AI code can be run in ways that reduce the footprint

Armed with this knowledge, the next logical question is what can you do about it? We outline three practical actions you can take to make a difference to your direct environmental impact. We help you understand the parts of the “stack” you can influence and the parts that probably are beyond your control.

1. Question your use of AI  ➡️ know when to use it
2. Optimise AI use ➡️ use it responsibly
3. Prioritise getting estimates of AI’s footprint ➡️  ask for your usage data from suppliers

Give it a read and let us know what you think!

If you are on a journey to dig deeper into these questions and actions and need support, get in touch.

1. Data center emissions probably 662% higher than big tech claims. Can it keep up the ruse? ↩︎
2. Microsoft’s Hypocrisy on AI – can artificial intelligence really enrich fossil-fuel companies and fight climate change at the same time? The tech giant says yes. ↩︎