Understanding the environmental impact of AI
There's a lot of talk about how AI can save the world—or destroy it. But let's talk about something very real and immediate: the energy, water, and resources it burns through.
Understanding the environmental impact of AI
There’s a lot of talk about how AI can save the world—or destroy it. But let’s talk about something very real and immediate: the energy, water, and resources it burns through.
1. Why does generative AI consume energy, water and materials?
Generative AI isn’t magic. It’s hardware. GPUs, servers, data centers—machines stacked in buildings burning through electricity. When you chat with tools like ChatGPT, you’re using a model that took months of computer time and megawatts of power to train, and still needs plenty of power for every new conversation.
Let’s break it down:
- Energy: Training big models takes huge amounts of electricity. Even just running (or “inference”)—the bit that happens when you type a prompt—burns more energy than you’d think. That means more demand on the grid, and a bigger carbon footprint.
- Water: Data centers heat up fast. Cooling them often means pulling water from local supplies. Some regions are already struggling with drought—a single data center can make it worse.
- Materials: All that hardware doesn’t last forever. Chips and servers are built from mined materials and, eventually, get tossed as e-waste. The more AI scales, the bigger this pile gets.
There’s no secret fix in sight. Most companies aren’t even tracking these costs.
2. What can we do about it?
We’re not anti-AI. But we need to use it smarter. Here’s what helps:
- Use gen AI for real reasons: Don’t fire up a massive model just to write your shopping list. Use it where it matters.
- Pick smaller models: Not every problem needs the biggest, most powerful AI. Light versions exist, and they use way less energy.
- Push for transparency: Ask tech companies to be clear about their energy and water use.
- Demand better hardware recycling: Most of today’s equipment will become tomorrow’s e-waste unless recycling gets better.
Responsible use matters. Not everything needs a chatbot—or at least not a giant one.
If you want a simple, honest view of what your ChatGPT usage is costing the planet, try this:
Install the AI impact tracker extension: A browser extension that monitors and quantifies the environmental impact of your ChatGPT usage, providing real-time data on energy consumption in understandable terms.
See the numbers for yourself. Make choices that match your values. That’s how change starts.
More info: AI Impact Tracker website