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A humanoid robot exhibited at a Chile-Germany innovation summit in Munich, 2024. The growth in artificial intelligence is driving demand for data centres, whose high energy and water needs have caused concern among environmentalists (Image: Marcelo Segura / Dirección de Prensa, Presidencia de la República de Chile)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been presented by its supporters as the great promise of the 21st century, capable of revolutionising industries – and even helping in the fight against climate change. It is said, for example, that AI will optimise the integration of solar and wind power into “smart grids”, helping to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
But the other side of this coin is not insignificant: the data centres that provide the computing power to train, deploy and run AI models are energy-greedy, and also generate emissions associated with their operations. The question is inevitable: in the fight against climate change, do the benefits of AI outweigh its negative impact?
Low share of power use today, but with future uncertainty
The data centres that support AI and other digital services consume huge amounts of energy. On a global scale, this currently only accounts for about 1% of electricity demand. But what happens as AI continues to expand? And what could go wrong?
