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Why is the topic important?
What truly makes these studies fascinating is how current and widely discussed the topic is. The impact of AI on energy consumption and emissions is gaining a lot of attention – opinion pieces and articles on this subject appear almost daily. This presented a great challenge in organising all this information: which studies are still truly relevant in this rapidly changing context?
Opinion pieces and articles often express concerns about the sustainability of AI, but there are also many misconceptions. The current studies are therefore important to examine existing beliefs about AI and data centres. This helps to get a better understanding of the actual environmental impact of AI, enabling a clearer focus on what needs to be done to make AI more sustainable.
What did you find interesting about the topic?
Emma: I personally found this research very interesting because we not only looked at the current situation, but also ahead: how will AI develop in the coming years, what does that mean for energy consumption and emissions, and which technological, economic, or policy factors will come into play? By taking this future-oriented approach, the research could truly contribute to the broader debate on sustainability and digitalisation.
Iris: In addition to exploring the impact of AI and data centres on sustainability, it is also important to zoom out to consider the impact of the digital sector as a whole. The research I contributed to focused on a broader perspective: mapping out the emissions, water, and resource consumption of the entire digital sector in the Netherlands.
How did you approach the studies?
Emma: For this research, Dialogic brought together knowledge and expertise from various sources. Six colleagues worked on the project, collaborating with experts from Utrecht University and a data centre specialist. It was a challenge to combine everyone's in-depth analyses into a coherent report, but it certainly improved the quality of the research. Dialogic has shown the ability to approach complex issues thoroughly and from multiple perspectives.
Iris: We systematically analysed the digital sector in the Netherlands in the research, using 'impact pathways’. This broadly means that we determined the impact – in terms of emissions, resource consumption, and/or water usage – of each part and subpart of the sector. It is very interesting to delve deeply into this. This systematic analysis helped identify which parts of the digital sector are most relevant to monitor.
How did the research make you think?
Emma: Both studies highlighted that monitoring sustainability within both AI and the entire digital sector is still in its early stages. There is much progress to be made in accurately assessing the impact. Specifically for data centres, information on energy consumption is to some extent available through EED reports; however, there remains a significant challenge in documenting the capacity of data centres used for AI. Additionally, information on the energy mix of data centres is also limited.
Iris: The digital sector produces emissions but can also contribute to sustainability. For instance, AI can be used to make processes more efficient, thereby reducing emissions. When monitoring the digital sector, it would be great if we could track not only emissions but also the savings in emissions.
Interested in learning more about the studies? Check out the research on 'De impact van AI op duurzaamheid en het monitoren daarvan' and 'Data over duurzame digitalisering'.