Planet Beyond Podcast
Mérouane Debbah on AI Sustainability
Published
11 Jul 2024
In this Planet Beyond Shortcast, host Jon Baston-Pitt delves into the environmental costs that come along with the transformative potential of AI. Training and serving AI models requires vast amounts of energy, and water used in cooling server farms. Jon is joined by Mérouane Debbah, AI researcher, professor at Khalifa University and senior advisor at the Technology Innovation Institute. Debbah explains the revolutionary potential AI has in areas such as space exploration, potentially paving the way for human colonies on Mars.
However, AI comes with major environmental costs, with estimates suggesting AI energy consumption could reach 1,000 TWh by 2026, equal to the annual electricity consumption of Japan. While AI companies face economic constraints through the cost of powering and cooling AI systems.
Debbah stresses the importance of a more holistic approach to AI development, considering the entire lifecycle of AI systems and their energy sources. Debbah also highlights the need for innovative and sustainable energy solutions that can be built alongside AI projects..
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guest
Mérouane Debbah, Professor Director of 6G Research Center, Khalifa University of Science and Technology
Photo credit: flickr | Hansecom
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