The benefits of AI outweigh the negative harms — provides a litany of tools to reduce climate change
Bereby 24—David Berreby, writes the Robots for the Rest of Us newsletter. His work about AI and robotics has appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic, Slate, and other publications. His other science writing includes Us and Them: The Science of Identity and work in The New Yorker, Nature, and many other publications.(“As Use of A.I. Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires” February 6, 2024. Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/features/artificial-intelligence-climate-energy-emissions, Accessed 07-19-2024, MZ)
Another complication is the fact that A.I., unlike Bitcoin mining or online shopping, can be used to reduce humanity’s impacts. A.I. can improve climate models, find more efficient ways to make digital tech, reduce waste in transport, and otherwise cut carbon and water use. One estimate, for example, found that A.I. -run smart homes could reduce households’ CO₂ consumption by up to 40 percent. And a recent Google project found that an A.I. fast-crunching atmospheric data can guide airline pilots to flight paths that will leave the fewest contrails.