{"id":31510,"date":"2025-11-18T19:28:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=31510"},"modified":"2025-11-18T19:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T19:28:05","slug":"ais-energy-consumption-lower-than-expected-new-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/ais-energy-consumption-lower-than-expected-new-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"AI&#8217;s Energy Consumption Lower Than Expected, New Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">Contrary to popular beliefs, a new study shows that artificial intelligence&#8217;s energy consumption has a negligible impact on global emissions, with potential benefits for both the environment and economy.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>New research from the University of Waterloo and the Georgia Institute of Technology challenges common perceptions regarding the energy consumption of artificial intelligence (AI). The study, <a href=\"https:\/\/iopscience.iop.org\/article\/10.1088\/1748-9326\/ae0e3b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in the journal Environmental Research Letters, reveals that AI&#8217;s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is minimal and could potentially offer benefits for environmental sustainability and economic efficiency<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers combined data from the U.S. economy with AI usage statistics across various industries to assess the environmental implications if AI adoption continues at its current pace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a staggering 83% of the U.S. economy relies on petroleum, coal and natural gas, all significant contributors to climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the study authors found that while the power consumption of AI in the United States is comparable to the energy usage of an entire country like Iceland, its impact remains nearly unnoticeable on both a global and national scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is important to note that the increase in energy use is not going to be uniform. It\u2019s going to be felt more in the places where electricity is produced to power the data centres,\u201d Juan Moreno-Cruz, a professor in the Faculty of Environment at Waterloo and Canada Research Chair in Energy Transitions, said in a news release. \u201cIf you look at that energy from the local perspective, that&#8217;s a big deal because some places could see double the amount of electricity output and emissions. But at a larger scale, AI\u2019s use of energy won\u2019t be noticeable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the study did not focus on local economic impacts where data centers are situated, the findings present an optimistic outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor people who believe that the use of AI will be a major problem for the climate and think we should avoid it, we&#8217;re offering a different perspective,\u201d Moreno-Cruz added. \u201cThe effects on climate are not that significant, and we can use AI to develop green technologies or to improve existing ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To derive these insights, Moreno-Cruz and Anthony Harding, an environmental economist from Georgia Tech, examined different economic sectors, the nature of jobs within those sectors, and the extent to which AI could perform these tasks. Their work aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of AI\u2019s environmental footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking ahead, Moreno-Cruz and Harding plan to replicate this study in other countries to evaluate the global impact of AI adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:13px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/uwaterloo.ca\/news\/media\/ais-energy-usage-less-previously-thought\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">University of Waterloo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New research from the University of Waterloo and the Georgia Institute of Technology challenges common perceptions regarding the energy consumption of artificial intelligence (AI). The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, reveals that AI&#8217;s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is minimal and could potentially offer benefits for environmental sustainability and economic efficiency [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,11,10],"tags":[316,291],"class_list":["post-31510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai","category-climate-and-environment","category-sustainability","tag-georgia-tech","tag-university-of-waterloo"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"New research from the University of Waterloo and the Georgia Institute of Technology challenges common perceptions regarding the energy consumption of artificial intelligence (AI). The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, reveals that AI&#8217;s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is minimal and could potentially offer benefits for environmental sustainability and economic efficiency&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31510"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31586,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31510\/revisions\/31586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}