by Jennifer Hill and Amrith Ramkumar
Over time, tech companies say AI could help them limit emissions by, for example, helping utilities more efficiently deploy renewable power. But it isn’t clear such benefits would come close to making up for the soaring emissions.
“It’s a massive increase that may not be justified by the productivity gains from AI,” said Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School.
Quoted in: “Big Tech Is Rushing to Find Clean Power to Fuel AI’s Insatiable Appetite” [print edition: “AI Demand Spurs Big Tech Scramble For Clean Energy”] by Jennifer Hill and Amrith Ramkumar, Wall Street Journal (25 September 2024).