AI boom has caused same CO2 emissions in 2025 as New York City, report claims

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• biggerbogboy@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Honestly, I would’ve guessed more

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• Zen_Shinobi@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Fuck ai.

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• JensSpahnpasta@feddit.org ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  The figures show the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from AI use are also now equivalent to more than 8% of global aviation emissions. His study used technology companies’ own reporting and he called for stricter requirements for them to be more transparent about their climate impact. “The environmental cost of this is pretty huge in absolute terms,” he said. “At the moment society is paying for these costs, not the tech companies. The question is: is that fair? If they are reaping the benefits of this technology, why should they not be paying some of the costs?”

  So that’s actually not that much? After everybody was screaming that AI is boiling the world, 8% of global aviation emissions is kind of low. And you might hate AI, but it is really more useful than Katie from Sales getting skin cancer on a beach in Thailand or that dude getting drunk on Mallorca or whatever those billionaires are doing in their private jets

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  • patatahooligan@lemmy.world ⁨31⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago

    As far as I can understand, that number refers to current electricity usage. So the actual energy cost is significantly higher and it’s currently growing at a rapid pace.

    Also what’s with the whataboutism? Aviation emissions are a huge problem. We don’t use it as a bar for whether something is significant or not.

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  • eldebryn@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I hate both the AI bubble (not the science behind it) and private jets and billionaires if that makes you feel better.

    Also, global aviation serves an extremely useful function. Not sure that compares to fancy code autocomplete and media generation that either invalidates digital evidence in legal courts or looks like an insult to life itself.

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    • JensSpahnpasta@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

      Also, global aviation serves an extremely useful function. Not sure that compares to fancy code autocomplete and media generation that either invalidates digital evidence in legal courts or looks like an insult to life itself.

      Isn’t it both? There are great use cases for global aviation (like visiting your family back home) and bad use cases (like sex tourism in a third world country). There are also great things you can do with AI and bad things.

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  • IcyToes@sh.itjust.works ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Remember they have a lot of data centres planned. This is just the start. 8% of aviation emissions is huge. We should be shrinking that number ASAP, not growing it.

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    • kami@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      This and also the models are growing and, assuming it will be achieved, AGI will require even more energy.

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  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Yep.

    There’s tons of great reasons to hate AI. Tech Bros. Spam in every nook and cranny.

    …But the power/water use has always been overblown. US tech is particularly sloppy about it, setting up generators and evaporators in cities, running huge training runs without proper optimization, but thats FOMO, impatience, and Tech Bro Evangelism more than a fundamental characteristic. It doesn’t have to be that way, and it won’t last long.

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• MildlyConcerned@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  AI-Generated Summary:

  • The AI boom is projected to produce as much CO2 emissions in 2025 as New York City, equivalent to over 8% of global aviation emissions, with water use surpassing global bottled-water demand.

  • A study by Alex de Vries-Gao highlights the environmental costs, estimating AI’s 2025 carbon footprint at 80m tonnes and water use at 765bn liters, with tech companies often lacking transparency in reporting their climate impact.

  • Datacenters, especially AI-focused ones, consume vast resources—some using as much electricity as 2m households—with the U.S., China, and Europe leading in consumption, while concerns grow over diesel backup power in countries like India.

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