The Cloud and the Climate: Navigating AI-Powered Futures

Status:: 🟩
Links:: Cloud Computing Sustainability

Metadata

Authors:: Walton, Jo Lindsay; Huegler, Natalie; Tiamiyu-Tijani, Faosiyat; Al Sayed, Kinda; Byrne, Olivia; Lethbridge, Josephine; Levontin, Polina; O'Donnell, Kerry; Price, Ben; Seymour-Smith, Nic; Sovacool, Benjamin
Title:: The Cloud and the Climate: Navigating AI-Powered Futures
Date:: 2024
URL:: https://zenodo.org/records/13923579
DOI::

Bibliography

Walton, J.L. et al. (2024) The Cloud and the Climate: Navigating AI-Powered Futures. Sussex Digital Humanities Lab. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13923579.

Links

Abstract

This report gives a snapshot of current critical issues around AI, the cloud, and climate change. Awareness of the environmental impacts of AI and the cloud has been growing rapidly. While there are potential environmental benefits to unlock if we get our policy and practice right, indications from the latest AI revolution point toward a backsliding in climate and environmental commitments.

Topics like AI and the climate are incredibly exciting and important for many of us. Yet the underlying evidence can be very complex, messy, and — unless you happen to be professionally or personally very into it — boring. We have done our best to make this report accessible to both technical and non-technical audiences, while preserving the nuance.

There is some focus on the UK context, but this report should be of interest all around the world, especially since the 'cloud giants' Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have such a global reach.

Notes & Annotations

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📝 Note (last modified: 2024-10-23#14:27:26) (

Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O5PmODLJHlX5h0CGOnI4CGNgfK4atJIvqtJUCFaJrfc