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Generative AI is reportedly tripling carbon dioxide emissions from data centers (www.techradar.com)

submitted 3 days ago by JRepin@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20289663

A report from Morgan Stanley suggests the datacenter industry is on track to emit 2.5 billion tons by 2030, which is three times higher than the predictions if generative AI had not come into play.

The extra demand from GenAI will reportedly lead to a rise in emissions from 200 million tons this year to 600 million tons by 2030, thanks largely to the construction of more data centers to keep up with the demand for cloud services.

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[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago (8 children)

Look, i'm not saying that this isn't a problem. My only question is, is this one of those "global warming is because people don't recycle their soda bottles" things? In other words, How concerned should I be about this vs, taking attention away from the energy, beef, and transportation industry?

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I don't think this is something to focus on. Tech being 40% of all emissions in the US is suspicious, given that in 2021, all industry was 30.1%, and all transportation was 28.5%. And the total emissions in the US was 6.3 billion tons. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=108623

I don't have more recent data (if it's in the article, I didn't see it at a skim) but I feel like oil, gas, and agriculture are the bigger long-term targets.

[–] ElderReflections@fedia.io 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Looks like Techradar misunderstood parts of the source story. The projected emissions over the next 10 years is equal to 40% of all US emissions. The Register

[–] rhys@lemmy.rhys.wtf 6 points 3 days ago

That El Reg links breaks this report much better than some other reporting. It projects a tripling of carbon emissions from bit barns by 2030, with 40% of that increase being due to construction and materials fabrication and 60% from their operation.

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