The Impact of AI on the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Business 

Artificial Intelligence is ushering in opportunities to streamline processes, drive innovation, and build growth.

Behind this however lies significant environmental costs that are not necessarily factored into our drive for AI solutions.

What we know:

• Carbon Footprint: Training and deploying large language models requires vast amounts of energy. Research indicates that the energy consumed during inference may rival or even exceed that used during training. Major companies, such as Google and Microsoft, have already reported increased CO₂ emissions due to the heightened demands placed on their data centres.
• Water Footprint: Data centres utilise billions of litres of water to cool their equipment, which is especially critical in regions where clean water is scarce.
• Transparency Issues: Accurately assessing the environmental footprint of AI is complicated by a lack of comprehensive data on energy usage and resource consumption across its entire lifecycle.

What this means for business and charitable organisations:

Modern companies can no longer afford to overlook environmental risks—sustainability has become a vital competitive advantage. Efficient resource management, a transition to renewable energy sources, and optimised algorithms not only reduce negative environmental impacts but also enhance operational performance.

Our recommendations:

• Optimise AI Solutions: Invest in research to develop more compact and efficient models that consume less energy and fewer resources.
• Adopt Cloud Technologies: Cloud-based data centres, optimised for energy efficiency and reduced water consumption, can significantly lower the environmental footprint.
• Transition to Renewable Energy: Integrating solar, wind, or hydroelectric power into data centre infrastructure can help minimise CO₂ emissions.
• Enhance Transparency and Accountability: Both commercial and charitable organisations should strive for openness regarding their environmental performance by regularly publishing data on energy consumption and resource usage.

At Karve Digital, we believe that the responsibility for a sustainable future rests with all of us. By working together, we can not only mitigate the adverse environmental effects of AI but also harness technology to drive positive change across society and business.

We can see and are fully invested in technical and digital uses for AI, and as the demand for this technology is now in every development we build, we want to ensure we can find the best and most sustainable ways to deliver this for our clients.