Sustainability in the Time of AI

By Jordan Ensign

When you think of sustainable, eco-conscious practices, you might picture things like buying second-hand, avoiding single-use plastics, or utilizing forms of transportation that reduce fossil fuel emissions. But as our society continues to advance technologically, a new consideration is on the sustainability table: the use of artificial intelligence.

There’s lots of apprehension surrounding AI. Ethical debates, reliability issues, and privacy concerns are just a few of the important conversations that are being had regarding artificial intelligence. But the sustainability conversation is one that is particularly interesting to me, not least because of our love for all things sustainable here at CDR. Today, I’m diving into the ups and downs of AI’s environmental impact in search of the answer to a question I’ve been wrestling with for a while now: Can sustainability efforts and AI usage coexist?

The Downside: Sustainability Concerns

In terms of sustainability, one of the big concerns with AI comes down to the amount of water and energy it takes to power these technologies. Water is needed to power the searches, and, in some instances, is also used to cool the servers when they get too warm. As The Associated Press reported back in 2023, ChatGPT uses the equivalent of around one 16oz bottle of water for every 5-50 queries it responds to, with that range being dependent upon additional factors, such as where the server is operating out of.

While 16oz of water per—if we’re being generous—fifty searches may not sound like a lot, it adds up quickly. As of February 28, 2025, DemandSage reported that ChatGPT was processing over one billion queries every single day. Even conservatively speaking, that’s the equivalent of 20,000,000 bottles every day, just from ChatGPT alone. That’s a lot of water bottles.

And, just like any other technology, artificial intelligence also needs energy to run. Forbes notes that, as of March 2024, ChatGPT utilized more than half a million kilowatts of energy per day; the average US household, in comparison, uses only twenty-nine kilowatts per day. Between this and the water, there are clear sustainability concerns that we need to grapple with in regard to AI.

AI’s Growing Popularity

AI’s popularity is, and has been, on a rapid rise. From December 2024 to February 2025, ChatGPT gained 100 million weekly users. As seen below from the graph from DemandSage, this trends with the steady increase in active users over the past couple of years:

With more and more people being drawn to AI, the sustainability concerns will only increase.

The Upside: AI’s Role in the Climate Crisis

While it’s clear that the drains on water and energy are huge concerns, there is also potential for AI to be used as a tool in fighting the climate crisis. The World Economic Forum points to artificial intelligence’s ability to process huge sums of data as an example of this. One of AI’s biggest draws is its capacity to rapidly sort through information and identify patterns. Climate scientists could use this to their advantage by letting AI do the heavy lifting on analytical work that would take humans or alternate technologies much longer to complete. With less time being spent on identifying patterns and more time being allocated to actually addressing them in the real world, AI could be used as an important sustainability tool.

Sustainability in the Time of AI

Like so many other technologies, it all comes down to how we use it. AI has the potential to play a role in the fight against climate change, but that doesn’t necessarily absolve these technologies of their drains on water and energy. As the aforementioned article from the World Economic Forum goes on to ask, “The key question is whether AI’s sustainability benefits outweigh its own energy demands.” Artificial intelligence is still a relatively young technology, and there are still so many unanswered questions about how, when, and if we should be utilizing them. Further, the sustainability concerns are just one small part of the equation.

None of us alone will answer any of the big questions regarding AI, nor will any of us alone single-handedly solve the climate crisis. But, in regard to both, we can take the time to inform ourselves and make decisions that best align with our lives, goals, and values. After all, before we can take steps to mitigate negative impacts, we have to understand what those negative impacts may be. Change doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't happen alone.

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