Governments of countries are also urged to require AI companies to provide standardized environmental reports, and consumers are encouraged to choose less energy-intensive tools that can perform the same task.
“What we are showing here is probably just the tip of the iceberg,” Kaveh Madani (Kavė Madanis), director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), told AFP. “We need to demand more transparency. Companies need to provide that information.”
The UNU-INWEH report states that the global AI market is expected to grow from USD 189 billion in 2023 to USD 4.8 trillion in 2033. It also indicates that AI data centers consumed 448 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity last year.
For comparison, if data centers were a country, they would rank 11th in electricity consumption, after France, which consumes 468 TWh.
It is projected that by 2030, the electricity consumption of data centers will exceed 945 TWh, placing them sixth among countries and emitting 399 million tons of CO2 equivalent. For comparison, last year the United Kingdom’s net emissions amounted to 367 million tons.
The report states that by 2030, data centers could consume 9.32 trillion liters of water, an amount sufficient to meet all basic water needs of the Sub-Saharan African population for a year. The land area they would occupy by 2030 would be 18 times larger than New York.
Read more What to do and what to avoid before a blood test: this can fundamentally change the results
ChatGPT alone processes about 2.5 billion queries per day, which amounts to approximately 383 GWh of electricity per year. This would be enough to meet the annual needs of almost three million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, the report states.
AI videos are the most energy-intensive product. A single short AI-generated clip can consume as much electricity as hundreds of AI-generated images.
The report also warns of a growing digital divide, as most AI-specialized data centers are located in the United States, China, and the European Union, while many developing countries bear the environmental costs associated with mineral extraction and waste disposal.
“This is not an anti-AI report,” said K. Madani. “We are simply saying that we need to actively monitor their impact so that we can reduce it, so that we can control it before it’s too late.”
Read more Prime Minister: No panic or concern over US troops in Lithuania
