The article Greenwashing: Study exposes AI climate promises as misleading first appeared in the online magazine BASIC thinking. With our newsletter UPDATE you can start the day well informed every morning.
Artificial intelligence consumes enormous amounts of energy and computing power. Nevertheless, the big tech companies are increasingly presenting AI as a climate savior. However, a new study now shows that there is little reliable evidence for most of these promises.
Experts assume that the global Electricity requirements of data centers by 2030 could more than double. According to a forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy demand of so-called “accelerated” servers will increase by 225 percent between 2025 and 2030.
These high-performance servers also provide the basis for data centers, without which AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Co. would be unthinkable. For comparison: According to the IEA forecast, the power consumption of conventional servers is only expected to increase by 52 percent over the same period.
Nevertheless, there are numerous claims from the ranks of the tech giants that artificial intelligence could bring a net benefit for the climate. One new study has now examined these claims about AI climate benefits and has come to the conclusion that a large part of them is unproven or has little scientific support.
Greenwashing? This is what’s behind Big Tech’s AI claims
For his study, climate and energy analyst Ketan Joshi examined a total of 154 statements that promise a net benefit for the climate through AI. This also included statements from tech giants such as Google and Microsoft.
The report, among other things commissioned by the German NGO Beyond Fossil Fuels came to a sobering conclusion. Accordingly, a large part of the claimed climate benefits of artificial intelligence are bogus.
Overall, 74 percent of industry claims about AI climate benefits are unproven. Only 26 percent of the claims cited published academic papers. For 36 percent there was no source at all.
“It appears that technology companies are using the lack of clarity about what is happening in energy-intensive data centers to gloss over environmentally harmful expansion,” explains study author and climate and energy analyst Ketan Joshi. “This has trickled down to organizations like the International Energy Agency.”
Differences between generative and traditional AI are becoming blurred
One of the central problems is the difference between generative AI and “traditional” AI, as the report states. Generative AI causes significant environmental costs, while traditional AI results in significantly lower energy and environmental impact.
The analysis did not find a single example that generative AI used by ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot can lead to a significant, verifiable and substantial reduction in emissions. In contrast to this is traditional AI, which is used for machine learning to predict wind patterns, among other things.
“The promises of climate-friendly technologies remain empty words, while AI data centers consume coal and gas every day,” explains Joshi. Exaggerating the climate potential of AI distracts from the real costs of energy and water-intensive data centers.
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The post Greenwashing: Study exposes AI climate promises as misleading appeared first on BASIC thinking. Follow us too Google News and Flipboard or subscribe to our newsletter UPDATE.
As a Tech Industry expert, I am not surprised by the findings of this study exposing AI climate promises as misleading. Greenwashing, or the practice of making unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims about the environmental benefits of a product or service, is unfortunately prevalent in many industries, including tech.
Many companies in the tech industry have been quick to tout the potential of AI to help combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions. However, as this study highlights, not all of these claims are backed up by concrete evidence or real-world results.
It is important for companies to be transparent and honest about the environmental impact of their products and services. Greenwashing not only misleads consumers, but it also undermines the credibility of the tech industry as a whole.
As a Tech Industry expert, I urge companies to prioritize real, measurable actions to reduce their carbon footprint and address climate change, rather than relying on empty promises and greenwashing tactics. Only by truly committing to sustainability and accountability can the tech industry make a meaningful impact in the fight against climate change.
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