Environmental Impacts
Environmental Impacts
Gen AI has a significant impact on the environment by using large amounts of energy to generate a response, it also needs large amounts of water to cool equipment.
- A single query may generate up to 10 times as much energy as a Google search.
- The amount of energy used is contributing to a rapid growth in CO2 emissions, contributing to the impact of climate change.
- The heat generated by data centres need to be kept cool using large quantities of water. This is of particular concern in areas that are experiencing a water shortage.
We can choose to reduce our carbon footprint by limiting our use of gen AI tools.
Power-hungry AI is driving a surge in tech giant carbon emission. Nobody knows what to do about it.
Worker Exploitation
Worker Exploitation
The tech giants outsource a lot of work to low socio-economic countries, where workers are under-paid for their labour.
- Workers are being paid well below the minimum wage with some being paid a rate as low as 90 cents to US$2 per hour. This amounts to modern day slavery.
- Often work conditions are below standard, creating a health risk.
- Some workers are reportedly being exposed to offensive images including sexual abuse and violence.
- The Tech Giants who employ these workers are making large profits.
AI is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s underpinned by an invisible and exploited workforce.
In a report in Time ("OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour to Make ChatGPT Less Toxic," Perrigo, 2023) it was found that Kenyan workers faced disturbing and traumatic content while performing their duties. The Time article highlights how AI systems are often reliant on hidden, exploitative human labour.
In May 2024, Kenyan workers' wrote an open letter to former President Biden, calling for better working conditions.
An open letter to former President Biden from tech workers in Kenya.
It is critical to recognise that much of the technological "magic" of AI systems is often produced by people, and we should be aware of these potential costs. Make sure that you are comfortable with these trade-offs, and try to approach gen AI with a sense of fairness, privacy, reliability, transparency, and accountability.