{"id":275711,"date":"2024-07-08T11:07:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T11:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?p=275711"},"modified":"2024-07-08T11:07:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T11:07:00","slug":"how-ai-increases-carbon-production-and-puts-net-zero-in-jeopardy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/how-ai-increases-carbon-production-and-puts-net-zero-in-jeopardy","title":{"rendered":"How AI Increases Carbon Production \u2014 and Puts Net Zero in Jeopardy"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI is a carbon-intensive technology. While many companies are committing towards Net Zero emissions, the growth in AI use threatens to throw a spanner in the works, as investment in carbon-intensive models and infrastructure continues.<\/p>\n

A new report released by Google this week revealed that the tech giant’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 48% in five years<\/a> [PDF] due to the demand for AI energy. The tech giant noted that this was primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions.<\/p>\n

The report also warned: “As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment.”<\/p>\n

Google’s comments are an admission that as it works on generative AI<\/a>-driven products like Gemini<\/a> and Veo<\/a>, its green initiatives are ultimately going to take a back seat to innovation.<\/p>\n

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Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n