AI is not the answer to climate change

I've been seeing comments like "climate change is good because it will make people switch to AI" and "AI will lead to a green future". Anyone who's actually read up on AI and climate change knows this is complete bs. Here's why:<br><br>1. **AI is an energy-intensive technology** by itself. More energy consumption = more greenhouse gas emissions. According to a paper published in 2023, the production and use of large language models will create 100 million tons of CO2 emissions by the end of 2024. Also, scientists are grappling with the environmental implications of AI. Training models twice as big, or twice as long, yields exponentially better performance. This means more and more energy is required to develop these models. The production and consumption of AI technology are projected to yield more than 45 billion pounds of carbon emissions by 2025. That's equal to the carbon emissions of 100 million cars. By 2030, that number is projected to reach 650 billion pounds of carbon emissions.<br><br>2. **AI does not make anyone switch to renewable energy**. If you think AI is good for the environment because it will make people switch to solar energy, you are sadly mistaken. The same company dumping solar panels everywhere will also make more efficient cars and even much bigger screens. The overall consumption of energy will increase, not decrease. More energy consumption = more greenhouse gas emissions. More efficient technology also means cheaper prices, which means more consumption, which means more emissions. This is called Jevons paradox.<br><br>3. **AI can be used to accelerate climate change**. This may seem like a stupid point after I've made the first two points, but there's more to it. A paper published in 2021 found that large language models like ChatGPT have a carbon footprint of around 1,400 pounds of CO2e per year. This is roughly equal to flying a small plane from New York to Los Angeles and back. Training a large language model can produce as much as 284,000 pounds of CO2. This is roughly equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of 60 cars. These emissions are not just from the electricity used to power the computers that train the models. They also come from the production of the computer chips, servers and other equipment needed to build and run the models. It's true that companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are investing heavily in renewable energy, but that's just greenwashing. Also, scientists are grappling with the environmental implications of AI.<br><br>4. **AI will make us less motivated to fight climate change**. A paper published in 2021 found evidence that climate change beliefs are linked to human well-being. A belief in climate change may not be as important as the belief that climate change is solvable. If AI continues to be seen as a solution to all our problems, including climate change, we will be less motivated to fight climate change. Why do you need to drive an electric car when an AI will just give you a flying car in the future? Why do you need to eat plant-based food when an AI will just give you access to a pill that will replace all your nutritional needs?<br><br>5. **AI will lead to a surveillance state that will accelerate climate change**. A surveillance state is not just a dystopian fantasy. It's a dystopian reality. If you think AI is a solution to climate change, you will also think that a surveillance state is a solution to climate change. A surveillance state will accelerate climate change by enabling more surveillance, more consumption, and more pollution. It will also enable more carbon offsets, more greenwashing, and more lies about climate change. A surveillance state will accelerate climate change by enabling more surveillance, more consumption, and more pollution. It will also enable more carbon offsets, more greenwashing, and more lies about climate change. By putting all the blame for climate change on individuals, governments and corporations can avoid their responsibilities and instead blame the lack of surveillance for climate change. This will lead to more surveillance, more consumption, and more pollution.<br><br>6. **AI will lead to more consumption and pollution**. Everyone who's actually read up on AI knows that it will lead to more consumption and pollution, not less. With the help of AI, companies can sell more products, more efficiently. With the help of AI, companies can also produce more products, more efficiently. This will lead to more consumption and pollution, not less. By making products more affordable and more appealing, AI will lead to more consumption and pollution. AI will also lead to more consumption and pollution by making it easier for companies to produce and sell more products.<br><br>If you're still reading this post, congratulations. You have a strong stomach. Yes, AI is evil. Yes, we need to stop it.