How AI’s energy needs conflict with media agencies’ carbon reduction efforts

As if AI didn’t present enough existential challenges to the world in general — with fears of hallucinations, misinformation and SkyNet taking over, among other worries — its massive energy needs represent the latest stumbling block. And it’s a big block.

Over the last few months, it’s been widely chronicled that generative AI already requires massive amounts of energy to run, leading the International Energy Agency to recently project that global data center electricity demand will more than double by 2026, including in the U.S. 

This realization directly counters the efforts media agencies have made in recent years to reduce carbon emissions for themselves, their clients and even the media companies whose ad time and space they buy. 

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