This Week in Green AI #1

UNESCO, AWS & German Traffic Light Coalition

A weekly update on three major stories from the world of artificial intelligence and sustainability.

1. UNESCO adopts agreement on AI ethics, including Green AI

UNESCO released the first global recommendations on the ethics of AI, which aim to promote human rights and the adoption of the UN SDGs. Regarding the climate crisis, the recommendations provide a section on environmental protection:

The Recommendation emphasises that AI actors should favour data, energy and resource-efficient AI methods that will help ensure that AI becomes a more prominent tool in the fight against climate change and on tackling environmental issues. The Recommendation asks governments to assess the direct and indirect environmental impact throughout the AI system life cycle. This includes its carbon footprint, energy consumption and the environmental impact of raw material extraction for supporting the manufacturing of AI technologies. It also aims at reducing the environmental impact of AI systems and data infrastructures. It incentivizes governments to invest in green tech, and if there are disproportionate negative impact of AI systems on the environment, the Recommendation instruct that they should not be used.

In a rare display of multilateral unity, all 193 member states of UNESCO unanimously adopted the recommendations. Sadly, this does not include the United States, home to many of the world’s leading AI companies and research institutions.

2. AWS announces carbon footprint reporting to customers

At its re:Invent conference, AWS announced to provide accurate carbon footprint estimates of customers’ AWS service use. Following up on The Climate Pledge to reach net zero by 2040, AWS will also provide forecasts to demonstrate how sustainability improvements will reduce the carbon intensity of its services.

While the regular reporting of emissions will surely help companies to assess their carbon footprint associated cloud computing, the actual calculation and allocation of carbon emissions by AWS will need to be closely scrutinized. Transparency to scope 3 emissions from the cloud can only be welcomed, which might limit corporate greenwashing through “hiding greenhouse gas emissions the cloud”.

3. German Traffic Light Coalition agrees on sustainable digitalization

The three parties of Germany’s designated new government have agreed on a coalition treaty, aptly named “Daring more progress. Alliance for freedom, justice and sustainability”. SPD, Greens and Free Democrats aspire to make AI and other technologies more sustainable, by:

• Promoting the development of digital twins for resource efficiency
• Mandating new data centers to be climate-neutral by 2027
• Introducing Eco Management and Audit Schemes for public data centers by 2025
• Standardizing certificates for sustainable IT procurement

In the absence of a dedicated digital ministry, the implementation of these initiatives will hopefully not be bogged down by a lack of collaboration between the new Ministry of Economy and Climate Protection, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

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