AI Ambitions vs. Carbon Neutrality Goals
Justine Calma, writing for The Verge:
Microsoft’s producing a lot more planet-heating pollution now
than it did when it made a bold climate pledge back in
2020. Its greenhouse gas emissions were actually around 30
percent higher in fiscal year 2023, showing how hard it could be
for the company to meet climate goals as it simultaneously races
to be a leader in AI.
Training and running AI models is an increasingly energy-hungry
endeavor, and the impact that’s having on the climate is just
starting to come into view. Microsoft’s latest sustainability
report is a good case study in the conundrum facing big tech
companies that made a slew of climate pledges in recent years but
could wind up polluting more as they turn their focus to
AI].
The Verge ran this under the headline “Microsoft’s AI Obsession Is Jeopardizing Its Climate Ambitions”, which I think correctly pegs Microsoft’s priorities. I wonder whether for Apple the problem is flipped, and Apple’s climate obsession is jeopardizing their AI ambitions? Apple has not backed off one iota from the goal it declared in 2020 to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030. At the time, the Apple Car struck me as the biggest obstacle to that goal. That’s not a problem now that they’ve cancelled Project Titan. But AI strikes me as the new biggest obstacle — a wildcard industry change they didn’t foresee in 2020.
★
Justine Calma, writing for The Verge:
Microsoft’s producing a lot more planet-heating pollution now
than it did when it made a bold climate pledge back in
2020. Its greenhouse gas emissions were actually around 30
percent higher in fiscal year 2023, showing how hard it could be
for the company to meet climate goals as it simultaneously races
to be a leader in AI.
Training and running AI models is an increasingly energy-hungry
endeavor, and the impact that’s having on the climate is just
starting to come into view. Microsoft’s latest sustainability
report is a good case study in the conundrum facing big tech
companies that made a slew of climate pledges in recent years but
could wind up polluting more as they turn their focus to
AI].
The Verge ran this under the headline “Microsoft’s AI Obsession Is Jeopardizing Its Climate Ambitions”, which I think correctly pegs Microsoft’s priorities. I wonder whether for Apple the problem is flipped, and Apple’s climate obsession is jeopardizing their AI ambitions? Apple has not backed off one iota from the goal it declared in 2020 to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030. At the time, the Apple Car struck me as the biggest obstacle to that goal. That’s not a problem now that they’ve cancelled Project Titan. But AI strikes me as the new biggest obstacle — a wildcard industry change they didn’t foresee in 2020.