- “What scares me is the energy consumption when using ChatGPT,” Ceres Power CTO Caroline Hargrove said during a panel moderated by CNBC.
- According to an IEA report, the AI industry is expected to consume at least 10 times the electricity demand in 2023 by 2026.
- “It's important to be a responsible user,” said Mary de Wysocki, Cisco's chief sustainability officer. [AI] Rather than using it because it's potentially fun, you know where it can add benefit. ”
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Ceres Power's chief technology officer has warned that energy consumption could rise further as artificial intelligence tools become more widely used to improve efficiency.
“The scary thing is the energy consumption when using ChatGPT. [for simple queries]'' said Caroline Hargrove on the “IOT: Driving the Digital Economy'' panel on the new energy landscape.
Mr. Hargrove is CTO of Ceres Power, a developer of clean energy technologies, including green hydrogen electrolyzers.
An International Energy Agency report published in January highlighted that a typical Google search uses an average of 0.3 watt-hours of power, while a ChatGPT request uses 2.9 watt-hours of power. it was done.
The report suggests that if this technology were incorporated into the 9 billion daily searches, it would require nearly 10 terawatt-hours of additional power per year.
More broadly, the IEA report states that “the AI industry is expected to grow exponentially by 2026, at least 10 times larger than consumption.” [electricity] Demand in 2023. ”
Hargrove said that if this consumption is not managed properly, “it could have the negative effect of using more energy.”
“I mean, I'm a big fan of using data to really optimize everything, but we should be using data to reduce consumption, but if you get a new toy and people push it. may cause adverse effects.” [such] rate,” she said.
Mary de Wysocki, chief sustainability officer at technology company Cisco, made a similar point, saying, “It's important to be a responsible user.” [AI] Rather than using it because it's potentially fun, you know where it can add benefit. ”
Meanwhile, Bertrand Piccard, founder and chairman of the environmental nonprofit Solar Impulse Foundation, said AI could be a “great way to reduce energy consumption” if managed properly.
“By integrating intermittent renewable energy with storage, distribution and consumption, energy losses are almost eliminated,” Picard said, citing the example of smart power grids using this technology.
“So [these are] It gives me hope,” he said.
A report by the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) Coalition, released in March, considered the risks that AI could pose during the climate crisis, including increased energy demand.
Based on the findings, the coalition recommended that regulators ensure transparency when technology companies report the energy and emissions used by their AI models.
CAAD also said governments should enforce these transparency rules with “clear and strong penalties” if companies fail to comply.
