AI and data centers leave goliath-sized environmental footprints globally
The environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world’s largest countries, according to a United Nations University report, which also predicts their water and energy use and pollution will double in just four years as use of artificial intelligence grows. Last year, global data centers used 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity, more than all but 10 countries of the world, said the report issued Wednesday. That electricity use produced about 208 million tons of carbon dioxide, about the same amount as Argentina, and producing that much energy consumed about 1.2 trillion gallons of water, according to the report on the environmental consequences of AI’s energy use.
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