AI will not solve the climate crisis, but it might prevent human extinction

Humans have a long history of pursuing new technologies in the search for solutions to the world's most intractable problems. This tendency often manifests in utopian visions and apocalyptic warnings. One of the most intriguing technologies, and one that has captured the imagination of people around the world in recent years, is the field of artificial intelligence, or AI. By all accounts, the pace of AI development has been incredibly rapid, and many are excited about the possibilities that AI might bring for solving the climate crisis.<br><br>That might seem like an odd phrase: *the pace of AI development has been rapid*. But the truth is, humans have been working on AI for decades. Consider, for example, that AI has a journal specifically dedicated to publishing academic work on the topic. *The Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research * published its first issue in 1993. In fact, the idea of AI has been around since the 1950s. The field has been around for a long time, and the question of whether AI is beneficial or problematic has been debated by scientists, philosophers, and policymakers for almost as long.<br><br>Despite the fact that AI has been around for decades, the field has grown in prominence and visibility in recent years – particularly in the popular media. It was only a few years ago that AI was in the thick of a so-called "AI winter," a point in time when funding and interest were both dwindling. Today, AI is regularly featured in the popular media, where it is portrayed in both a positive and negative light. News articles, podcasts, and videos all highlight the potential benefits and risks of AI. They also highlight the people and companies working on AI.<br><br>In recent years, AI has also become a topic of interest at the national and international levels. In the U.S., there have been multiple government reports and Congressional hearings on the topic. More recently, the topic of AI has been discussed at length in the European Union, where officials have been grappling with whether or not to regulate AI. So far, they have decided not to, but the fate of AI, and how it will be regulated, is far from settled.<br><br>In light of these developments, it is reasonable to wonder what AI might bring for the climate crisis. AI has appeared as a potential "solution" to climate change in recent years, even though the field has been around for decades. The relationship between AI and the environment is complex, and the truth is that AI will not solve the climate crisis. It might actually accelerate it in the short-term.<br><br>The reality is that developing and training AI models requires large amounts of electricity. In fact, training a large-scale AI model can require as much electricity in a single hour as the average American home consumes over the course of an entire year. This is why so much AI development is taking place in countries with abundant access to clean energy, like Norway and New Zealand. The relationship between AI and the environment is complicated. While AI might accelerate the climate crisis in the short-term, it also has the potential to help mitigate its effects in the long term.<br><br>There are many potential benefits that AI might bring for addressing the climate crisis, particularly in the long-term. However, these benefits are not without potential risks and challenges. One of the potential benefits of AI is in its ability to accelerate clean technologies. This is often called the "clean tech accelerator" hypothesis. The idea is that AI can accelerate the development of other technologies, particularly those with environmental benefits. Solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells are all examples of technologies that might see accelerated development in the near future thanks to AI.<br><br>For example, AI can help improve the efficiency of solar panels and wind turbines. It can also improve the efficiency of electrical grids, which is important for widespread adoption of renewable energy. AI can also be used to improve the efficiency of climate models, which scientists rely on to predict the impacts of climate change. Another example are electric vehicles. They are a clean alternative to fossil fuels, and AI can be used to improve their performance. This might be in the form of improved battery life or smarter charging systems. Hydrogen fuel cells are another example. They have the potential to be a clean source of fuel for vehicles and power plants, and AI can be used to improve their efficiency as well.<br><br>Another potential benefit of AI is in its ability to improve climate resilience. Climate resilience refers to the ability of societies to withstand and recover from the impacts of climate change. This could include AI-powered early warning systems for natural disasters like hurricanes or wildfires. It might also include AI-powered systems for monitoring and managing ecosystems. This could include anything from monitoring ocean health to improving agriculture.<br><br>The potential benefits of AI for improving climate resilience are many, and they are diverse. One of the primary ways that AI can help improve climate resilience is by improving our ability to predict and prepare for natural disasters. This could include, for example, AI-powered early warning systems for hurricanes or wildfires. Such systems could potentially save thousands of lives, not to mention millions of dollars worth of infrastructure.<br><br>In addition to improving climate resilience, AI also has the potential to help mitigate the effects of climate change. The most obvious example is in carbon capture. The idea behind carbon capture is to develop technologies that can remove CO2 from the atmosphere, where it contributes to climate change, and store it somewhere else. This is a complex technological challenge, and one where AI is being explored as a potential solution.<br><br>One of the most prominent examples of AI in carbon capture is a company called Climeworks. Climeworks has developed a large-scale carbon capture plant in Iceland, and has received hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in recent years. They are not alone in the pursuit of carbon capture technologies. There are dozens of companies around the world working on similar projects, and exploring the potential of AI in carbon capture.<br><br>These are just a few examples of the ways that AI is being explored and developed as a potential tool for addressing the climate crisis. Despite the benefits that AI might bring, it will not solve the climate crisis. It might actually accelerate it in the short-term. The relationship between AI and the environment is complex, and the truth is that AI is unlikely to solve the climate crisis. It will first accelerate it, and then escalate it. But in the end, it might just help save humanity from extinction.