Ottawa, January 17 - A recent trending conversation revolves around two important topics of our generation: artificial intelligence (AI) and the environment. Recent advancements in and growing accessibility to AI have enabled the technology to infiltrate nearly every aspect of daily life, bringing with it new possibilities and challenges that remain far from fully understood. Climate change and sustainability have become increasingly urgent concerns as our world produces faster than our planet can keep up. Politicians, professionals, and individuals alike hold diverse opinions on what actions should or should not be taken. Recently, the negative environmental implications of AI have been brought to light through social media. While this topic has been researched and documented over the past years, its increased use creates new conversations and anxiety.

Context

An influx of content on the topic of the negative environmental impacts of AI appeared recently after posts about utilizing AI as an alternative to Google, such as to create grocery lists or when planning a vacation, were getting popular. TikTok creator Nik Pollina (@nikpollina) made a video on how AI works and how it's connected to resource depletion. In summary, Pollina explains that data centers, which analyze all of our devices' processes, require an immense amount of maintenance and cooling, using large amounts of water and electricity. Pollina then explains that a request to ChatGPT takes on average ten times the energy that a Google search would use. Additional creators contributed to this discussion, noting how these data centers use fresh water solely, suggesting how freshwater resources are depleting and how this may be a prevalent issue soon. This content has made creators who previously advocated for an increase in everyday AI use retract their statements.

But how true are these claims? According to the UN Environmental Program, the large-scale AI deployments that are housed in data centers will soon be using more fresh water to cool their systems than the entire country of Denmark and produce electronic waste which contains hazardous substances like mercury and lead and confirmed that a request made through ChatGPT requires ten times the electricity than a google search. Additionally, the electronics needed to make and maintain these data centers require rare earth elements that are often mined in unsustainable and environmentally destructive ways (AI has an environmental problem. Here's what the world can do about that, 2024). The Harvard Business Review states that the generation of electricity to sustain AI is primarily done through the combustion of fossil fuels which is producing high rates of air and water pollution (Ren & Wierman, 2024). As this technology is rapidly evolving, these reports might only be scratching the surface of the environmental negatives of AI, which could seep into various social and political issues.

Business

What does this mean for individuals, businesses, and collective movements towards sustainability? Artificial intelligence has been integrated into key business operations for years, in fields such as data analytics, optimizing automation, financial analysis, and in client relationship functions. The increase will mean businesses exponentially increasing their carbon footprints and environmental impacts, while potentially underreporting it. According to a study done by the Capgemini Research Institute, only 12% of executives who use AI in their organizations say that they measure the environmental footprint of their use and that only 38% claim to be aware of the environmental impact at all. Additionally, organizations have shared that the sustainability implications of generative AI are of marginal importance to their choice of using it (Sereydanaoum, 2025). Thus, since the negative effects of AI are less known and not as directly linked to business operations, there is little accountability by organizations for their part in this environmental crisis, and it renders their sustainability and environmental reports misleading.

Another aspect to consider is the inclusion of AI in a company’s product or services on the user side and the agency of users to opt in. For instance, if you have made a Google search recently, you may see an “AI Overview” section at the top of the search page that summarizes your search query and possibly answers your question. Google AI has made the use of Generative AI automatic, making the choice to opt out of using AI for a simple query impossible, and thus increasing the energy spent by a simple Google search. When googling how to turn this feature off, the automatic AI overview informed me that it was impossible to turn it off, but instead told me how to hide it using various extensions. This is concerning for consumers who may wish to limit AI use to be more environmentally conscious as this shows the growing trend of AI infiltrating every aspect of our daily functions. This begs the question of whether consumers should have the right to refuse the use of AI when obtaining products and services, along with a clear indication that AI will be used in said product or service.

Artificial intelligence has been used to attempt to tackle some of the environmental issues we have been facing as well. For example, the UN Environmental Program shares how AI can be used to detect patterns in data help monitor the environment, and assist organizations make more eco-friendly choices, such as AI being used to detect when oil and gas installations emit methane (AI has an environmental problem. Here's what the world can do about that. 2024). These types of technologies can be major game changers in the fight against climate change and present real opportunities for businesses, governments, and individuals to adopt real solutions.

Possible Solutions

The major concerns it evokes surrounding not just environmental impact, but also political and social issues, must be properly addressed. Climate change is not going away, so delaying attempts to address this issue is creating more harm. A first consideration would be to invest in the advancement of AI to lessen its strain on the environment. This would include the optimization of the use of natural resources in electronic construction and maintenance, building systems that require less energy to be sustained, and finding alternative ways to host these technologies. Another consideration is to encourage or force businesses that utilize AI to increase their profits and productivity to use part of their income gained by AI to promote further sustainability in their company and community or invest in fighting external environmental threats. As AI is being used to optimize operations, substitute labor resources, and revolutionize products and services, businesses can no longer not include AI effects in their environmental reports and shift their mindset to consider its impact. For individuals who use AI technologies in everyday life, one should also be mindful of how they use the technology. While it is certainly an excellent tool, it has been accused of substituting critical thinking skills, and with the newfound knowledge of its environmental impact, should be thought about twice before using it for a simple task. Educating others on this topic can be done, like the previously mentioned social media creators have been doing, so that some of the above solutions could be considered.

In all, not being able to see how AI is hurting our planet should not be an excuse to ignore the fact when making personal and business decisions. AI brings great power and potential in so many industries and fields, and remember! With great power, comes great responsibility!

Works Cited:

AI has an environmental problem. Here's what the world can do about that. UNEP. (2024, September 21). https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/ai-has-environmental-problem-heres-what-world-can-do-about 

Ren, S., & Wierman, A. (2024, July 15). The uneven distribution of Ai’s environmental impacts. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2024/07/the-uneven-distribution-of-ais-environmental-impacts 

Sereydanaoum. (2025, January 14). Organizations are increasingly aware of the environmental footprint of Gen Ai, but most aren’t able to address it alone. Capgemini. https://www.capgemini.com/news/press-releases/organizations-are-increasingly-aware-of-the-environmental-footprint-of-gen-ai-but-most-arent-able-to-address-it-alone/#:~:text=With%20rapid%20innovations%20around%20generative,aware%20of%20that%20environmental%20impact.