A quarter of Americans interact with artificial intelligence several times a day, but many may not realize the environmental impact of their searches. According to the International Energy Agency, using ChatGPT consumes 10 times more electricity than Google search, and data centers that power AI models consume around 4.4% of US electricity. By 2028, they’re expected to consume up to 12%. A new study found certain prompts can release up to 50 times more CO2 emissions than others.
Researchers analyzed 14 large language models with varying numbers of parameters and found that more complex tasks required more “thinking” tokens, which generated higher emissions. The most accurate model produced three times more CO2 emissions than similar-sized models that generated concise answers. The study aims to raise awareness about the issue and encourages users to be mindful of AI’s environmental impact.
The number of data centers worldwide has risen significantly, with over 8 million as of September 2024. Researchers hope that users will become more selective and thoughtful in their AI use if they’re aware of the CO2 cost associated with it.
Source: https://time.com/7295844/climate-emissions-impact-ai-prompts