Essay by Eric Worrall
“We know this won’t be easy and our approach will need to continue to evolve.”
Google misses key climate target, citing AI’s electricity demands
Google, which has an ambitious plan to tackle climate change through cleaner operations, fell short of its goals last year, according to the company’s annual Environmental Report released Tuesday.
By ALEXA ST. JOHN Associated Press
July 3, 2024, 2:01 AMThree years ago, Google laid out an ambitious plan to tackle climate change by achieving “net zero emissions,” meaning that by 2030, Google would not release any more climate-changing gases into the air than it removed.
But the company’s report Tuesday showed it is far from reaching that goal.
Instead of falling, emissions are set to increase by 13% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Compared to the 2019 base year, emissions jumped 48%.
Google has cited artificial intelligence and the demands it places on data centersrequired large amounts of electricity to grow last year.
…
“Achieving net zero emissions by 2030 is an incredibly ambitious goal,” Google Sustainability Director Kate Brandt told The Associated Press.
“We know that this will not be easy and that our approach will need to continue to evolve,” Brandt added, “and this requires us to address many uncertainties, including uncertainty about the future environmental impact of AI.”
…
What can I say – more evidence that the AI revolution has shattered Silicon Valley’s commitment to a net-zero emissions target.
I’m curious to see how this AI at all costs movement is affecting the hippies in Silicon Valley, because it’s not just Google – Microsoft and other tech giants are also going all-in on the AI revolution.
Will all the hippies in Silicon Valley jump on the AI greed train, selling out their supposed green principles for big checks, trying to avoid eye contact? Will they hide their MAGA hats in the bottom of their backpacks? Or will there be Soviet-style diatribes about climate vandals during lunch breaks, before everyone gets back to work coding the next energy-guzzling AI upgrade?
I think life would be perfect if we had answers to every question.
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