ChatGPT emits 8.4 tons of carbon dioxide per year, over twice the amount a human emits in the same amount of time, according to Sophie Mclean’s April 2023 article on Earth.org.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a form of intelligence generated by computers, its most popular platform being ChatGPT. This software can generate a quick response to almost any question it is asked utilizing several computers that train the application with all the necessary knowledge. The energy consumed during this process emits an immense amount of carbon dioxide and uses approximately 700,000 liters of fresh water. The environmental impact of ChatGPT is 22 times greater than that of a traditional search engine like Google.A single response from ChatGPT emits 4.41 grams of carbon dioxide, while a Google search emits an estimated 0.2 grams.
Science teacher and Sustainability Coordinator Karl Frank believes it is a moral obligation to address and understand the environmental impacts of AI. For Frank, ChatGPT’s disregard for sustainability is harmful, especially during a time when the world stands in a pivotal fight against climate change. Frank sees the unchecked growth of AI as part of a broader failure to take responsibility for our environment.
“We all have a responsibility to minimize our carbon footprint to the [greatest] extent possible,” Frank said. “That includes all corporations, individuals and certainly the fossil fuel industry and the big banks. You have large tech companies ramping up AI use and it feels as though there’s a broad dismissal of environmental consequences associated with this expansion. I believe we need to take action immediately to avert the worst effects of climate change. We’re at this pivotal moment where it appears that we’re collectively abdicating that responsibility [to combat climate change].”
Though Miles Sanger ‘25 is aware of ChatGPT’s environmental effects, he does not believes those outweigh the benefits of the positive changes AI can help him with. Sanger uses AI to help teach him math or physics, and has recently worked on developing his own artificial intelligence model to address lung cancer. While Sanger understands that his searches on ChatGPT are not helping the world’s environmental state, he acknowledges that so many other utilities and activities people do in their daily lives have an environmental impact.
“If there’s something that [AI] can help me with, I’m going to use it regardless of the environmental implications,” Sanger said. “There is a broader crisis that needs to be addressed in terms of how everything we do leads to these great carbon emissions, but, unfortunately, it is a byproduct of everything we do.”
Charlie Acosta ‘25 has never used AI. He believes that using an artificial model to create something is unethical, especially when it comes to art. While he acknowledges its potential benefits for some of his classmates, the variety of forums is excessive and harms both the environment and human originality.
“Not every company needs an AI,” Acosta said. “Both Google and Apple phones have their own AI, which [is excessive] when they’re taking from the same internet. Now that companies are developing their own AI, it’s just going to become an even bigger problem for the environment.”
High school English teacher Jeremy Grossman has a strong perspective on AI and the companies that utilize it. Similar to Acosta’s stance on AI, Grossman critiques these companies as he believes they are focused on maximizing user engagement, without considering environmental consequences. For Grossman, their environmental toll and risk to creativity make these technologies more harmful than helpful.
“You can’t have it all,” Grossman said. “Any innovation requires some form of sacrifice. It’s a balance. AI makes life simpler for you, and companies are increasingly trying to market that to a lot of people. If someone gave me a tool to do that, I might be willing to ignore all the consequences that may come because it’s gonna make my life easier at this moment.”
Grossman finds that both consumers and AI companies have downplayed the environmental impact of AI due to its benefits. He believes the disregard for environmental decline becomes apparent when it isn’t discussed at the level it demands.
“That’s [the environmental impact] not what the consumer cares about,” Grossman said. “The goal of these companies is to make you ever more hooked onto their devices; that’s why they’re being put onto phones, being put into browsers. They don’t care about the environmental impact, especially because no one is talking about it [the environmental impact] to the same degree.”
