The capabilities of artificial intelligence are alarming. But technology is another threat to humanity. An equally existential threat that tech companies must be accountable for.
As the months go by, one warning after another comes. Experts are concerned about the dangers that artificial intelligence poses to our society and humanity as a whole. More specifically, the risks that malicious use of this technology could cause us to operate. Scientists also questioned its effects. ClimateClimate – and water resources –Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence. They emphasize that multiplication Data centersData centers This diet could jeopardize efforts elsewhere to limit our greenhouse gas emissions.
Artificial intelligence is polluting the air we breathe.
And today, researchers at the University of California, Riverside (United States) are drawing attention to another unintended effect of our fascination with artificial intelligence. Because the growing number of data centers around the world is not only driving up costs. BroadcastingBroadcasting Of Carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide (CO2of the sector. It’s also the cause of air pollution that is expected to cause 1,300 premature deaths per year in the United States by 2030. In question, power plants and GeneratorsGenerators Emergency devices that stay on. FuelFuel FossilsFossils Exclusion Fine particlesFine particles and other pollutants such as Nitrogen oxideNitrogen oxide. Not just in their immediate environment.
For example, researchers report that pollution from data center backup generators in northern Virginia is spreading to Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and the District. ColombiaColombia. with public health costs already on the order of $190 to $260 million per year. If these backup generators were to emit at their maximum authorized level, the annual cost would increase by a factor of 10 to $1.9 to $2.6 billion!
Artificial intelligence weighs on public health.
The researchers also show that generating the electricity needed to build artificial intelligence creates air pollution equivalent to more than 10,000 trips. the carthe car Between Los Angeles and New York. By 2030, the burden of technology on public health is expected to be twice that of the steel industry and that of all the cars, buses and trucks in California. There are many reasons why researchers argue that technology companies should be held accountable for the health burden they represent.
