Credit: Oritro Karim NEW YORK, Jul 12 2024 (IPS) - Contrary to popular belief, artificial intelligence has been a cornerstone of technological progress for much longer than the past few years. Computer scientist Alan Turing brought forth the concept of computers solving complex human problems with his invention of the Turing Machine in 1936. This machine provided solutions to a seemingly infinite number of problems, yet the technological limitations of the early 1900s proved that this number was indeed very finite.
Flash forward to the 2020s, artificial intelligence has become a widespread practice, impacting different fields such as music, art, science, forensics, finance, agriculture, and many others. Although artificial intelligence has been hailed as the future of human progress, it also poses a risk to this future due to its significant carbon footprint. AI systems require lengthy periods of training and development in order to be effective for use by the general public.
This developmental period is costly in terms of its electrical output. According to the Earth.org article “The Green Dilemma: Can AI Fulfill Its Potential Without Harming the Environment?”, the computing power that it takes to train AI systems doubles every 3.
4 months and AI is expected to contribute to 14 percent of global emissions by 2040. Furthermore, studies show that the carbon footprint from training AI systems is larger than the combined outputs of planes and cars. The staggering emissions ca.
