Generative AI Is Poised to Worsen the E-Waste Crisis生成式人工智能或将加剧电子垃圾危机

Generative AI could saddle the planet with1 heaps of more hazardous waste.

生成式人工智能可能产生大量有害垃圾，加重地球负担。

Every time generative artificial intelligence drafts an e-mail or conjures up an image， the planet pays for it. Making two images can consume as much energy as charging a smartphone; a single exchange with ChatGPT can heat up a server so much that it requires a 16-ounce bottle’s worth of water to cool it. At scale， these costs soar. By 2027 the global AI sector could annually consume as much electricity as the Netherlands， according to one 2023 study. And recent research in Nature Computational Science identifies another concern： AI’s outsize contribution to the world’s mounting heap of electronic waste. The study found that generative AI applications alone could add 1.2 million to five million metric tons of this hazardous trash to the planet by 2030， depending on how quickly the industry grows.

每次用生成式人工智能编写一封邮件或生成一张图片，地球都要付出相应代价。（剩余5613字）