Hu Xiu·2025-08-04 13:55Core Viewpoint - The rapid development of AI technology is leading to significant environmental costs, including increased carbon emissions and resource consumption, prompting companies like Microsoft to invest heavily in carbon offset initiatives [3][5][10]. Group 1: Microsoft's Investment in Carbon Offsetting - Microsoft has signed a deal with Vaulted Deep to achieve a carbon removal target of 4.9 million tons by 2038, with the total value of the deal reportedly exceeding $1 billion, potentially costing Microsoft up to $1.7 billion [6][7]. - Vaulted Deep specializes in converting organic waste into a "bio-slurry" that is injected deep underground to permanently remove carbon and reduce methane emissions [8]. - This expenditure is essentially a purchase of "emission rights" for Microsoft, as the company faces increasing carbon emissions due to its expanding cloud computing and AI operations [9][10]. Group 2: Environmental Impact of AI - The environmental costs of AI are often overlooked, with current carbon accounting mechanisms being criticized for their inadequacies [11][12]. - Major tech companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta, have seen their indirect carbon emissions increase by an average of 150% from 2020 to 2023 due to the high energy demands of data centers [13]. - Specific data shows that Microsoft's operational carbon emissions increased by 155% in 2023 compared to three years prior [14]. Group 3: Water and Resource Consumption - AI models, such as Mistral Large 2, have significant water consumption, using 281,000 cubic meters of water over 18 months, equivalent to filling 112 Olympic swimming pools [16]. - The lifecycle of AI models shows that training and inference phases account for 85.5% of greenhouse gas emissions and 91% of water consumption [17]. Group 4: Future Projections and Industry Response - By 2027, AI is projected to consume up to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water, double Switzerland's annual consumption, and data center energy consumption may double by 2030 [20]. - The tech industry is under pressure to reduce emissions, with companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta committing to net-zero emissions by 2030, while Amazon aims for 2040 [23]. - Experts emphasize the need for companies to prioritize renewable energy and transparency in environmental impact disclosures, with government intervention being crucial for effective regulation [27][28].