Will AI do more harm than good?

Artificial Intelligence [AI] is changing constantly and is helping hundreds of people from around the world, from finance and healthcare to assdisting us in our everyday lives. It is an amasing thing and is a massive help to lot of people, but it comes at a cost. Although AI is assisting people in finding solutions to climate change, there is no hiding the fact it is contributing to the problem.

One of the reasons that AI is so bad for the planet, is the amount of power it takes up. For example, 1 search using AI takes 29 watt-hours of electrisity, which is nearly 10 times as muchas a normal google search! Did you know that for some models, it takes as much energy to create an AI generated image as it does to charge a smart phone to 50%? It is a massive problem, but AI can still do worse for the planet! Training 1 AI model releases 285,000 kilograms of carbon into the atmosphere, which is 5 times as much as an average car pumps out in it's lifetime! Also, AI is getting more popular and it needs techonology to work harder which wears it out faster. Scientists predict that bythe end of the decade, there coud be millions of tons of electronic waste as a result of AI. Another devastating fact is that to send 1 email using AI every week for 1 year would use 30 litres of water, as water is used to cool the machinery down.

AI may be helping us save our planet, but it is also helping us destroy it. So what is more important: AI's potential for progress? Or protecting the planet? I choose the planet, but what do you choose?