AI -
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most recent technological breakthroughs in science in recent times. In fact, it is one of the most trending technological tools used by individuals, companies, journalists, lecturers, hospitals, research centres, and schools.
However, the growing concern about its impact on the environment is becoming disturbing. Recently, I learned that the equipment consumes a lot of electricity and water for cooling the systems. I also learnt about the massive space requirement for the installation of the machines.
Imagine in my country of origin, where we are still struggling with constant power outages and scarcity of water. This kind of massive project will impact the environment with more consumption of electricity, affecting the bad situation more and leaving the citizens with no choice but to continue with the struggle.
Furthermore, in situations where there is an outage, the centres will switch to diesel generators, which may cause noise pollution and the emission of carbon monoxide into the environment, causing health challenges. Again, we are still battling with corruption; therefore, the centres may put pressure on the power regulatory body to route more energy to their route, leaving the common man to struggle for survival.
Additionally, I also learnt that some countries in Europe, such as the United States and Ireland, are battling with these challenges, and there are recent comparisons on the pros and cons of AI, which one outweighs.
However, in the face of these uncertainties, I do not think it will be wise to terminate the use of AI or stop establishing its data centres, but measures to preserve the ecosystem can be derived with policies that will govern such centres.
Generating regulatory bodies that will monitor the approval of the kind of machines that are used. For example, machines that are eco-friendly and energy efficient could be insisted on. Ensuring that they have boreholes that will supply water to be used by the data centres will also allow the community to benefit from them. Agreeing on community development and providing a certain percentage of employment opportunities will also benefit the communities where the data centres are located.
In conclusion, there should be a balance between the impact on the ecosystem and the establishment of these data centres. The impact should not outweigh the benefits of AI data centres on the host communities; otherwise, it will pose a situation of the more you look, the less you see, meaning creating more problems for future generations.
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First Image generated using ChatGPT
