Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
TL;DR
Industry using ‘diversionary’ tactics, says analyst, as energy-hungry complex functions such as video generation and deep research proliferate Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report. Most claims that AI can help avert climate breakdown refer to machine learning and not the energy-hungry chatbots and image generation tools driving the sector’s explosive growth of gas-guzzling datacentres, the analysis of 154 statements found. Continue reading...
Nauti's Take
Oldest trick in the book: promise climate neutrality via ML pilot projects, then quietly ignore that your actual cash cows – video generation, deep research, multimodal models – are blowing up energy consumption. If you don't scrutinize AI climate claims, you probably also believe airlines fly carbon-neutral.
Summary
Industry using ‘diversionary’ tactics, says analyst, as energy-hungry complex functions such as video generation and deep research proliferate Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report. Most claims that AI can help avert climate breakdown refer to machine learning and not the energy-hungry chatbots and image generation tools driving the sector’s explosive growth of gas-guzzling datacentres, the analysis of 154 statements found.
Continue reading...
Sources