![Hosting the SCLA Casptone Mentor Dinner outside allowed for more attendees on September 27, 2021 at Silver Creek. This event would’ve usually been held inside. According to Lauren Kohn, a SCLA 12 teacher, “If we have a higher number of people, as long as we can host the event outside, then that seems to be keeping every[one] safe”.](https://schsnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sxMAIGbSYGodZkqmrvTi5YWcJ1ssWA08ApkeMLpp-900x675.jpeg)
A student struggles with their math homework and almost instinctively reaches over to open ChatGPT without considering what negative consequences that can cause.
Many students, and even teachers, use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for work despite it having effects such as harming biodiversity, climate change, and large water consumption. Should the negative consequences of AI be a concern for the day-to-day consumer?
Lizbeth Horton, a junior at Silver Creek High School and user of AI, like many students, has limited knowledge of the environmental impacts of AI.“I have heard that every time you use AI, it destroys a forest… but I didn’t really put much thought into [environmental concerns],” Horton said.
Aderlie Baron who is a junior in the Environmental Science class comments on AI using a lot of energy, water, and releasing carbon.
“I know that AI releases a lot of carbon, it takes a lot of energy to ‘train’ the AI… the AI needs to generate energy and it needs water to cool that down, a lot of water,” Baron said.
The Yale School of The Environment concluded that the amount of energy consumed just by AI can reach 4% of global usage by the year 2026. Most of that energy is from fossil fuels which contribute heavily to global warming. Also, roughly 9 liters of water is used to evaporate heat per kWh of energy used according to Forbes.
Many students use AI for multiple reasons, but most of them are unaware of the harmful consequences. Once understanding the possible complications of AI, it causes hesitancy to utilize AI as a tool.
“I feel like this should be told before you start using ChatGPT,” Horton remarked.
Ashlee Runyon, an environmental teacher at Silver Creek, emphasizes the negative effects of AI on the environment.
“I’ve heard that two-thirds of our energy usage by the year 2030 is going to be from AI-powered things,” Runyon said.
In 2030 around 11% of power in the U.S. alone will be used for AI.
Some ways that students and teachers can negate the negative effects of AI is to use different search engines instead of ChatGPT. For example, Google uses only one-tenth of the amount of energy than AI per search query.
“I’m going to Google things now,” Horton said. “It’s hard because Google doesn’t give me the exact answer… but I would just google it.”
However, if AI can become fundamentally more environmentally friendly by limiting the massive amount of water usage, things may change.
“[AI developers] are experimenting with different ways [to be environmentally friendly,] like putting [data centers] in the ocean for cooling… putting air conditionings… to try to do that cooling that way,” Runyon said.
Over 190 countries around the world are adapting methods that could encourage a more ethical use of AI according to the UN Environment Programe. The UNEP also recommends that more governments around the world establish more environmental standards for AI and that companies that develop AI, develop it with efficiency to reduce its energy demand and that they incorporate AI into their environmental policies.
AI is an important tool that can be used for many different things so it must become more environmentally friendly; until then, it might be better to just “Google it.”
