AI and the Environment: Sustaining the Common Good
On November 1, 2024 the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and Next 10 cosponsored a daylong conference at Santa Clara University. The event brought together academics from a variety of disciplines, industry and government representatives, as well as students and the broader public, to explore the intersection of AI and sustainability.
The day began with a welcome from Santa Clara University Provost James Glaser, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Executive Director Don Heider, and Noel Perry, Founder of Next 10.
Recordings of the six panels which comprised the conference are included below; each is approximately 1 hr. long.
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Session One: AI’s Environmental Footprint—Development and Usage
What is the environmental impact of the training and widespread deployment of numerous large language models and other AI systems? What are the trends developing, and what can we anticipate for the next 5-10 years? What might organizations, governments, and individuals do in response?
Emma Strubell (Carnegie Mellon/Allen Institute for AI)
Session Two: AI and Water
What do we know about the water usage required by AI tools? What are the environmental justice implications of this usage? How are AI developers and other stakeholders addressing this key challenge? How are impacted communities responding?
Shaolei Ren (UC Riverside), Iris Stewart-Frey (SCU)
Moderator: Irina Raicu (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
Session Three: Greening AI
What are some current efforts to make AI more environmentally friendly? Are there corporations or other organizations that might serve as models in this context? How does the amount of research and investment in this area compare to the attention and funding focused on other AI-related efforts? What trends do you see in this space, and are there promising developments we should keep an eye on?
Konstantin Klemmer (ClimateChangeAI), Benjamin Lee (U. of Pennsylvania), Emma Strubell (Carnegie Mellon/Allen Institute for AI)
Moderator: Ahmed Amer (Santa Clara University)
Session Four: AI for Sustainability
What are some ways in which AI is currently being used to support environmental protection goals and to promote environmental justice? Do the benefits of such efforts outweigh the harms? Can that balance be improved even further? What are some promising developments and areas yet to be explored related to AI for sustainability?
Maryam Khanbaghi (SCU), Navid Shaghaghi (SCU), Yuhong Liu (SCU)
Moderator: Brian Green (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
Session Five: AI and the Environment: Business Implications
How does the environmental impact of AI, in all its complexity, intersect with business ethics and economic concerns, and with various corporations’ efforts related to environmental, social, and governance issues? What duties to AI developers owe to shareholders, employees, and members of the communities in which they operate? Who are the people best positioned to help shape related business practices, and how might they do that?
Helen Popper (SCU), Joseph Keller (SCU), Hersh Shefrin (SCU), Susan Kennedy (SCU)
Moderator: Ann Skeet (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
AI, Regulation, and Environmental Law
What role does current environmental law play in addressing the environmental impacts of AI development and deployment? What are some new laws and regulations proposed in response to those impacts so far? What should we be demanding of our representatives and regulators?
Tseming Yang (SCU), Betsy Popken (UC Berkeley Law)
Moderator: Irina Raicu (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
