IC12: Will AI and data centres become the climate's biggest problem?

Show notes

Last episode before the winter break. In this week's Inconvenient Chats, we explore the complex relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change. We discuss the significant energy consumption of data centres, the environmental impacts of AI, and the challenges of balancing technological advancement with sustainability. How big of a problem is our use of AI for the climate? Has it the potential to become its biggest? And what has that to do with data centres?

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Sources

• The New Yorker (3 November 2025): Stephen Witt, Information Overload, Inside the data centers that train A.I. and drain the electrical grid (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/inside-the-data-centers-that-train-ai-and-drain-the-electrical-grid))
• MIT Technology Review (May 2025): We did the math on AI's energy footprint (https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/))
• Beyond Fossil Fuels (February 2025): SYSTEM OVERLOAD: How new data centres could throw Europe’s energy transition off course (https://beyondfossilfuels.org/2025/02/10/system-overload-how-new-data-centres-could-throw-europes-energy-transition-off-course/))