AI and sustainability policy position paper

There has rarely been a type of technology as fast-paced as artificial intelligence (AI), which now permeates every aspect of our daily lives. However, the term AI is too broad to accurately describe the vast differences in technologies that it represents and is often conflated with machine learning, data processing and data analytics.

There is a unique juxtaposition between AI and sustainability, as AI is a high-energy consumer with huge potential to tackle climate change. AI can transform the energy efficiency of other carbon-intensive industries, such as modelling buildings to predict energy use.

In addition to this, the growing financial cost of Large Language Models (LLMs) is unsustainable. This is partly due to the extensive energy cost required to run them, making LLMs unprofitable. The UK must be cautious about investment in technologies that may or may not have reached their peak.

The IET’s recommendations

• Regulations should now look beyond the immediate risks of AI development to its broader impact on the environment.
• The IET recommends a bronze, silver, and gold standard for approving new data centres in the UK based on a sustainability rating. The UK must become not only a global leader in innovation and technology but a leader in sustainable innovation.
• The government should support green technologies by building sustainability into appropriate regulation of new and expanding technologies.
• Computing vs Storage - recognising that current storage models (data centres) are unsustainable without greener infrastructure.

Published date: Wed 20 Nov 2024