Google's dumb AI answers increased its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50% in the last 5 years

As one of the largest and most influential tech firms in the world, Google has made various commitments about how the company will operate now and in the future. We're a long way from the innocent days of "don't be evil", and into the realms of more prosaic and potentially consequential stuff: such as the goal of reaching net zero emissions by the year 2030.

Google has now issued its 2024 environmental report, which euphemistically features a section called «AI for sustainability» and offers users the chance to sift through the report guided by AI. This is deeply ironic, because the take-home message of the report is that AI projects have put Google's emissions through the roof. The report reveals that the company's increased use of power-guzzling datacenters for AI research has seen its greenhouse gas emissions increase by 48% over the last five years.

Google blames its electricity consumption and wider supply chain for 2023's 14.3 million metric tons of emissions, a 13% rise over the 2022 figure. Bear in mind that Google's net zero target requires that it reduce emissions significantly. 

«Reaching net-zero emissions by 2030 is an extremely ambitious goal and we know it won't be easy,» reads the report. «Our approach will continue to evolve and will require us to navigate significant uncertainty—including the uncertainty around the future environmental impact of AI, which is complex and difficult to predict.»

Well… it seems pretty certain how AI is affecting the environment at this moment in time. On top of the above, Google goes on to basically throw its hands up. «Solutions for some key global challenges don't currently exist, and will depend heavily on the broader clean energy transition.» Don't blame us, in other words, because no one's got nuclear fusion up and running yet.

The report goes on to claim, naturally, that AI will help solve the AI emissions problem by 2030: «AI has the potential to help mitigate 5-10% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by