Photograph by Nathaniel St. Clair

Everywhere we look, AI is treated like an inevitability.

AI companies like ChatGPT and Open AI are expanding rapidly, and many Americans rely on AI assistants such as Alexa and Siri in their day-to-day lives. For some college students, not relying on AI can feel like a disadvantage.

Critics might be soothed by the idea that AI can be put to good use — such as in data modeling to better predict our changing climate, an idea that’s generated a lot of enthusiasm. But using AI to tackle climate change is like bombing a country in the name of peace.

AI is a driver of climate change, not a solution. According to the United Nations Environment Program, rapidly proliferating AI data centers “use massive amounts of electricity, spurring the emission of planet-warming greenhouse gases,” as well as consuming enormous quantities of water and minerals.

ChatGPT, the popular AI software, is hardly worth the climate impact. One analyst, Sophie McLean, writing for Earth.org, explains,........

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