I can say that this question comes from an honest desire to reduce the harm you cause through your individual interactions with AI software, which we know is resource-intensive. But first, step back with me for a moment and free yourself from the guilt of existence.
I would bet a lot of money that you are also an avid recycler. Someone who knows too much about different types of plastics and religiously classifies them as an upstanding citizen?
While this is a great practice in theory, your recyclable items can end up incinerated, buried in a landfill, or dumped in the ocean. This is because waste management sites cannot process many types of plastic, and the deluge of trash our society generates is too overwhelming for our current systems to handle. So in the case of plastic recycling, our intentions as consumers are fair, but the actions we take often amount to little more than a daily ritual that absolves us of the guilt of participating in a system that contributes to pollution.
It may be okay for you at this point to personally opt out of using energy-intensive generative AI software when you can. Still, you may not be able to avoid it forever. Your future job could be enhanced by AI in some way that is considered critical to your performance, and you will have no choice but to let it absorb energy and resources so you can do your job. Honestly, the last decade’s shift toward cloud storage has intensely transformed the way we approach computing as a society, and I don’t know anyone who has an ethical conflict about the number of photos clogging up their Apple iCloud storage. The reality is that consumers’ personal decisions have less impact on the world than we often like to think.
Although I am skeptical that the abstention of AI tools by individual users will have a significant impact on the environment, this does not mean that the future is hopeless! If anything, I think you should call your government representatives and express your perspective as someone who uses AI and is concerned about the technology’s impact on the long-term health of our planet. Assuming tech companies keep building giant data centers—and they are—we should at least push for sustainable infrastructure, such as on-site renewable energy generation and a reduction in water consumption by computer cooling systems. The public deserves more transparency about how vast amounts of resources are consumed on these private sites that power our AI tools.
At your service,
reece
Looking for tips on how to navigate the world of AI tools? Send any questions you would like Reece Rogers to answer to mail@wired.com and use the subject line The notice.