Call to make tech firms report data centre energy use as AI booms

According to experts, technological companies should be required by law to report energy and water for its data processing centers, since the boom in the field of artificial intelligence causes irreparable damage to the environment.

AI grows at a speed that has no analogues of other energy systems, which led to increased environmental risk, the National Center for Engineering Policy (NEPC) says.

The report provides that the UK government forced technological companies to submit mandatory reports on their energy and water crossings and carbon emissions in order to establish the conditions in which the data processing centers are designed to use less vital resources.

“In recent years, advances in AI systems and services have been largely due to a race for size and scale, demanding a growing computing power volume,” said Professor Tom Rodden, a chancellor of research and knowledge at the university of a notting university, which was a member of the NEPC working group which conducted a study.

“As a result, the systems and services of artificial intelligence grow at a speed that has no analogues of other high-energy systems, as a rule, without much respect for the effectiveness of resources. This is a dangerous trend, And we are faced with the real risk that our development, deployment and use of AI can cause irreparable damage to the environment. ”

Google and Microsoft report an increase in water consumption in the data center in annual calculus since 2020, and many of these water removal come from drinking water sources. In her annual environmental stability report in 2023, Microsoft stated that in 2022 she consumed 6.4 million cubic meters of water, primarily for her cloud data centers – 34% more a year earlier.

Google said that in 2022 its data centers consumed 19.5 million cubic meters of water, which is 20%more.

There is no reliable data on the number of resources used by data centers. To make an effective policy in order to reduce energy consumption, the government needs to collect information on a scale, the report said.

Rodden said that it was vital to control the environmental costs of AI. “As soon as we get access to reliable data relating to their environmental impact, and the feeling where these services and systems are needed, we can begin to effectively aim at the effectiveness in the development, deployment and use and plan a stable future of AI for the UK. “

The report gave recommendations to politicians, including the need:

• Expand the obligatory environmental reporting.

• Provide information about the impact on the environment of artificial intelligence systems.

• Install the requirements for environmental stability for data processing centers.

• And a revision of data collection, transfer, storage and management.

Sarvapali (Gopal) Ramschers, professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Southampton and executive director of the responsible AI UK, who also worked in the NEPC working group, said: “The use of AI has grown over the past two years, helping daily tasks to increase performance and innovation. Nevertheless, many do not know about significant costs and environmental impacts … AI suppliers should be transparent regarding these effects. If we cannot measure this, we cannot cope with this and not provide benefits for everyone. The recommendations of this report will help the national discussion on the stability of the AI ​​systems and the compromises involved. ”