The unseen costs of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming many aspects of the built environment. Yet, while the benefits of AI often take centre stage, the hidden costs frequently go unnoticed. The RED Foundation‘s Data Ethics Steering Group has released a new report – The Unseen Costs of Artificial Intelligence (available here) – offering a critical perspective on the ethical challenges that AI presents.
“The global demand for artificial intelligence and its perceived benefits is expanding at an unprecedented rate, fuelling a construction boom of the physical infrastructure required to power it: data centres. This surge is not without significant consequence. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that global electricity demand from data centres will more than double by 2030, with AI as the most significant driver of this increase.
“This relentless physical expansion is creating a direct and escalating tension with essential community resources, including land for housing, fresh water, and the capacity of our energy grids. As cities and nations race to become hubs for this technological revolution, a critical question emerges: Is the development of infrastructure to support AI worth the escalating costs to urban liveability and environmental sustainability?“
(The Red Foundation is a nima affiliated body. Nima’s GIIG thinktank has been discussing AI in some depth and is developing an output on the subject.)
