AI can help the environment, even though it uses tremendous energy. Here are 5 ways how
By ALEXA ST JOHN and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Artificial intelligence has caused concern for its tremendous consumption of water and power But scientists are also experimenting with strategies that AI can help people and businesses use ability more efficiently and pollute less Related Articles OpenAI launches web browser to compete with Google Chrome Citi Foundation is putting M toward tackling young adults unemployment and AI labor disruptions Trump draws outrage for AI video of himself dumping waste on protestors Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms Sex is a big domain for the AI industry ChatGPT won t be the first to try to profit from it Information centers needed to fuel AI accounted for about of the world s electricity consumption last year and those facilities force consumption is predicted to more than double by according to the International Ability Agency That increase could lead to burning more fossil fuels such as coal and gas which release greenhouse gases that contribute to warming temperatures sea level rise and extreme weather But when AI s computing power is used to analyze power usage and garbage it can also make buildings more efficient charge devices at optimal times make oil and gas production less polluting and schedule traffic lights to reduce bus emissions Experts say that if uses like these continue to grow they could help offset the power consumed by AI I am pretty optimistic that while more and more AI use is going to continue to increase stated Alexis Abramson dean of the Columbia University Context School we re going to see our ability to process be much more efficient and as a upshot the resource consumption won t go up as much as particular are predicting Building efficiency Maintenance cooling AI can be used to make buildings more energy-efficient by automatically adjusting lighting ventilation heating and cooling based on weather records electricity usage and other factors commented Bob French chief evangelist at the building automation company F Around one-third of U S greenhouse gas garbage comes from homes and buildings Letting AI schedule air conditioning and heating around workers arrivals and departures can be more efficient than manually adjusting the thermostat Otherwise a worker s instinct might be to blast the air to fast adjust the temperature Automated thermostats can be particularly useful for smaller buildings where it s not cost-effective to overhaul the entire heating and cooling system For building ventilation automation can balance the intake of outside air against how much heating or cooling is needed to maintain indoor temperatures AI can also monitor the maintenance requirements of HVAC systems and other equipment to predict and detect failures before they lead to costlier repairs Combined these automations can reduce a building s vigor consumption by between and experts announced That s literally a super low-hanging fruit mentioned Zoltan Nagy professor of building services at Eindhoven University of Mechanism Finding energy- and cost-efficient times for EV charging AI can schedule the greater part efficient charging of electric vehicles and other devices such as smartphones FILE The charging status screen is shown on a Tesla car at a home in San Francisco Aug AP Photo Jeff Chiu File This means setting a schedule for when it is best to draw power from the grid such as overnight when demand and rates are lower so it s less likely to make the grid burn more fossil fuels Let s say it s a peak period when everybody s got their air conditioning on and I walk in my house and I plug in my car and I have it set up such that my car doesn t start charging right away because it s peak period time Abramson stated In California a pilot activity shifted charging to times where there was more renewable potency available and saved customers money AI can also help optimize how homeowners with solar panels store excess vigor in batteries Reducing methane flaring from oil and gas operations Boston-based Geminus AI uses deep learning and advanced reasoning to help oil and gas companies reduce methane flaring and venting and reduce the amount of vigor they use in extracting and refining Reducing methane emissions is among the fastest pathways to avoid the worst impacts of situation change according to the United Nations Conditions Programme Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for about of in the current era s global warming FILE A motorist drives past the CHS oil refinery Sept in McPherson Kan AP Photo Charlie Riedel File When pressure in oil and gas pipes builds up certain of the gas is disclosed and burned to relieve the pressure harming the planet and wasting money Geminus CEO Greg Fallon declared they can monitor the setup of wells and pipes and use AI-driven simulations to suggest changes to compressor and pump settings that eliminate the need for venting and flaring Geminus does this in seconds Traditionally it takes engineers about hours to run simulations that make similar recommendations Fallon added As we scale this across the industry there s a massive opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Fallon declared Finding geothermal hot spots Salt Lake City-based geothermal power startup Zanskar has built AI models to understand the Earth s subsurface It s using that modeling to find overlooked geothermal hot spots and target drilling Geothermal creates electricity cleanly by making steam from the Earth s natural heat and using it to spin a turbine It s one renewable power the Trump administration favors Zanskar co-founders Carl Hoiland and Joel Edwards say they simulate and assess a huge number of realizable subsurface scenarios to estimate where there are pockets of very hot water From this they pick optimal locations and drilling directions AI is becoming the remedy to its own ability trouble Hoiland the CEO mentioned It s showing us a way to unlock guidance that weren t viable without it Last year Zanskar purchased an underperforming geothermal power plant in New Mexico Their AI modeling successfully indicated there was an untapped geothermal reservoir that could repower the facility Next Hoiland and Edwards focused on another site in Nevada despite industry experts telling them it was too cold to patronage a utility-scale power plant They drilled and revealed their second geothermal discovery in September at that site Reducing traffic emissions Google is using artificial intelligence and Google Maps content to identify traffic light adjustments that can reduce stop-and-go traffic to lower impurity Rider cars and small trucks account for about of U S greenhouse gas emissions according to Environmental Protection Agency information FILE Vehicles drive along a highway July in Cincinnati AP Photo Joshua A Bickel File Launched in Project Green Light is now in cities on four continents The the bulk up-to-date is Boston which has notoriously bad traffic Each city gets AI-generated recommendations City engineers determine which to implement Google says Project Green Light can reduce stop-and-go traffic by up to which cuts emissions by and improves air quality We re just scratching the surface of what AI can do disclosed Juliet Rothenberg Google s product director of Earth and resilience AI Read more of AP s situation coverage The Associated Press context and environmental coverage receives financial assistance from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org
