Unless you live under a rock, you did not miss the new trends of filters based on artificial intelligence who have resumed social media in recent weeks. Among the most popular is the Hayao Miyazaki filter, capable of transforming any photo into an illustration with the unique style of Ghibli studio. Another viral trend is the Starter packwhich generates an image representing a person or a mark like a doll, surrounded by emblematic elements which define them. These phenomena, beyond their carefree appearance, have raised ethical questions about copyright concerning the Miyazaki filter, as well as the concerns concerning environmental impact. Indeed, the use of generative artificial intelligence consumes much more energy than simple web navigation. “What is different in the generative AI is the density of power which it requires. Basically, it is just a calculation, but a training cluster generating AI can consume seven to eight times more energy than a typical computer workload”,, Explains Noman BashirMain author of the impact article, which is a computer and climatic scholarship holder at MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC).
Thus, a request on Cat Consumes as much energy as ten research on Google, according to the International Energy Agency. In addition, the environmental impact is even greater in terms of generate via artificial intelligence. These operations mobilize much heavier IT resources, resulting in much higher energy consumption. According to a study by Carnegie Mellon University, an image requires Between two and five liters of water. In terms of greenhouse gases, generate 1,000 IA images is equivalent to driving 6.5 kilometers in a petrol car. Although it is difficult to quantify the exact environmental consequences of these specific AI filters, it is clear that these images were a disaster for the earth. The buzz around the filter of the Ghibli studio was so intense during its launch week – with 700 million requests – that Sam Altman, president and chief executive officer of Openai, said on X that the servers of the “founded” company.
Generative technologies require Astronomical quantity of waterMainly to cool the infrastructure housing the servers used by the AI platforms. For example, Chatgpt should use 148 million liters of water per day according to Business Energy UK. In addition, AI -related water consumption could reach between 4.2 and 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027, according to a study by Washington Post. A real ecological aberration at a time of climate disturbance. It is difficult to imagine a lasting future for AI given fierce competition between companies (Openai, Microsoft, Google, Meta, etc.) which will only accelerate the race. Today, Chatgpt makes an average of 125 million users per day according to Statement. A number that will probably develop exponentially over the years. It is urgent that multinationals develop these technologies to adopt a sustainable approach prevent a ecological disaster which is already underway.