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| Chief Sealth (A man with high EI) |
A surface deep inspection or a cursory examination
might induce one to dispute this claim. However, consider this example of the
introduction of cell phones, in a blog from three years ago. Cell phones and
their use have introduced problems of: depression, anxiety, cyber bullying,
e-waste, increased electricity use, uptick in CO2 emissions, environmental
consequences of mining, nomophobia (cell phone addiction), social isolation,
and cognitive impairment.
AI is no different. Indeed, it is worse, as one of the
purposes of AI is to optimise situations. The chance that AI will exacerbate
every other single problem is highly likely. Yet, there is little or no
discussion taking place around the likely consequences of AI. The proponents of
AI are leading the charge, hailing the benefits, and drowning out the voices of
those who wish to apply the cautionary principle.
I wish to highlight just one area of concern regarding
AI – its environmental consequences.
The electricity and water usage of AI are both
significant. In 2022 AI data centres were the 11th biggest
electricity consumers in the world. If they were a country, then they would
rank just short of that of France.
Microsoft and Exxon Mobil have entered into a
partnership in which Exxon plans to use Microsoft’s AI and claims that the use
of this technology will enable them to increase production by 50,000
oil-equivalent barrels per day.
All of which contributes to CO2 equivalent
emissions.
Water use for cooling AI data centres is also
sizeable. Researchers at Cornell University claim that the use of water for
these centres has been kept a secret, and estimate that 4.2 – 6.6 billion cubic
meters of water will be consumed by AI by 2027 – half the total usage of the
United Kingdom.1
A further environmental concern with AI is that of
e-waste, with AI expecting to account for 12% of global e-waste by 2030.
AI at Odds with EI
When the environmental consequences of AI are
considered we must conclude that Artificial Intelligence is incompatible with
Environmental Intelligence (EI). A search for Environmental Intelligence will
often land you on pages that speak of gathering information and data from the
environment and then analysing the data gathered.
This is not how I intend using the term Environmental
Intelligence (EI) here.
EI to my mind is better thought of as the intelligence
innately found in nature and includes the intelligence with which we humans
bring to our entanglement and inter-relationships with nature. Many have tried
to capture this form of EI. One of the best is that of Chief Sealth (sometimes
known as Chief Seattle) in a speech he gave to his tribal assembly in 1854. His
speech is an excellent example of EI.
Many versions of this speech exist, all of which
derive from second-hand sources, yet the underlying sentiment remains. This
extract is from that of the film scriptwriter, Ted Perry, in 1970. I will not
quote the whole speech (it is 5 pages long2); rather just two
paragraphs that condense the ideas contained in Chief Sealth’s speech into the
essential concepts.
‘This
we know. The earth does not belong to humans; humans belong to the earth. This
we know. All things are connected like the blood that unites one family. All
things are connected.
Whatever
befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. Humans do not
weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.’
This understanding of EI is clearly at odds with that
of AI.
The two forms of intelligence are incompatible.
Yet, I read some highly visible so-called
environmentalists utilising AI in their writing. This is disappointing. When I know
that these authors use AI how can I be sure that what I read is their own
thoughts or that of an AI-generated chatbot? I can’t.
Furthermore, it has been said that the easiest way to
overcome a problem is to stop participating in it.
Just stop using AI! It is incompatible with EI.
P.S. This blogpiece has not been AI generated.
Notes:
1. Penfeng Li, et al, Making AI Less "Thirsty": Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models, Cornell University, 26 March 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.03271 accessed 16 April 2025
2. Chief Sealth speech cited
in full in Seed, Macy, Fleming, Naess, Thinking Like A Mountain, New
Society Publishers, Santa Cruz, CA, 1988, pp 67-73
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