UNESCO warns of the rise of AI: demand for water, energy and critical minerals soars

A report by the UN agency recommends developing smaller models and educating citizens so that they know the ethical and environmental cost of this technology.

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) brings with it “new and urgent challenges related to resources,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Its report, published on Tuesday, warns that the exponential growth in the computational power needed to run these models “is putting increasing pressure on global energy systems, water resources and critical minerals”. And to minimize that impact, he proposes developing more efficient models, or with fewer parameters, and that people use these tools responsibly, giving them short instructions. The UN agency provides figures on the situation. There are 1,000 million people who use generative AI tools daily, says UNESCO. Each interaction consumes energy, an average of 0.34 watts per hour. That adds up to 310 gigawatt hours per year, “the equivalent of the annual electricity use of more than three million people in a low-income African country.” The energy demand associated with AI doubles every 100 days, putting more pressure on global energy grids. “Consumers are not aware of these costs, and little has been done to educate them,” he stresses.

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