"It's no secret that, as the number of people using AI grows, the colossal energy footprint of the AI industry increases. It's true that chips powering AI continually become more efficient, but tools like deep research, thinking models, and agents ensure the demand for energy rises, too. It didn't help that Sam Altman once said that saying "please" and "thank you" to ChatGPT was needlessly burning millions of extra dollars."
"In the eyes of those concerned about the environment, these stories and statistics can weigh on a person. Using ChatGPT starts to feel like a betrayal, with every query producing both intelligence and a commensurate amount of guilt. If they feel their employer is pushing them to use these tools anyway, that guilt can bubble up into anger, and even resistance."
AI adoption growth raises the industry's energy footprint and increases data center construction and water consumption. Efficiency gains from newer chips are offset by rising demand driven by advanced tools such as deep research models, thinking models, and agents. Public statements minimizing small user behaviors can amplify perceptions of waste. Environmental concern among knowledge workers can translate into guilt when using AI tools, and employer pressure to adopt AI can turn that guilt into anger and resistance. Practical mitigations include careful application of fact-checking, human-in-the-loop processes, enterprise privacy controls, and prompting for critical feedback when appropriate.
Read at Fast Company
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