The Invisible Polluter: Is Artificial Intelligence Becoming One of the World's Biggest Environmental Threats?
Joy A and Fazulullah YS
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21922419
ABSTRACT
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most transformative technologies of the twenty-first century, reshaping industries, enhancing productivity, and enabling solutions to complex global challenges. Yet its environmental footprint — encompassing energy consumption, carbon emissions, water usage, electronic waste (e-waste), and mineral extraction — remains largely invisible to end users and policymakers alike. This paper critically examines the environmental implications of AI development and large-scale deployment, with particular emphasis on large language models (LLMs) and generative AI systems. Drawing on the most current quantitative benchmarks (IEA, 2025; UN University, 2025; Global E-Waste Monitor, 2024), we situate AI's resource demands within the broader context of global industrial energy consumption, updating prior analyses with 2024–2026 data. Data centre electricity consumption reached 415 TWh globally in 2024, with AI-specific workloads surging 50% in 2025 alone; by 2030, the sector is projected to consume 945–1,300 TWh annually. We further evaluate mitigation strategies under the emerging paradigm of Green AI — encompassing algorithmic efficiency, renewable energy procurement, carbon-aware scheduling, and transparent reporting standards. The study concludes that while AI is not yet among the largest absolute environmental threats, its compound growth trajectory demands immediate, systemic sustainability interventions to ensure technological advancement and environmental stewardship remain aligned.
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