Mar 13, 2023 | Posted by MadalineDunn
WekaIO (WEKA) has announced that it has launched a new Sustainable AI Initiative with the aim of raising awareness of the rapid growth in global data center energy consumption and carbon emissions driven by next-generation computing technologies.
According to the company, while technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and high-performance computing (HPC), are responsible for driving forward innovation, they are also contributing to both the climate and energy crises. The company has outlined that through its initiative, it is trying to bring together industry experts, political, scientific and tech communities and spark society-wide conversation to create more sustainable AI.
Currently, the data center industry consumes around 3% of the global energy supply every year, but increasing use of AI is causing this to increase; its computational overhead has been doubling every few months in the last ten years.
Speaking about this, Jonathan Martin, president at WEKA, said that while public discourse around the benefits and ethics of AI has been "robust and prolific," rarely is AI's environmental impact discussed. Martin says that it's time to change that. He said: "Our planet is experiencing severe distress. If we do not quickly find ways to tame AI's insatiable energy demands and reign in its rapidly expanding carbon footprint, it will only accelerate and intensify the very problems we hoped it would help us solve."
As part of the initiative, WEKA is partnering with One Tree planet, and pledging to plant ten trees for every petabyte of software it sells.
Speaking about this partnership, One Tree Planted founder and Chief Environmental Optimist Matt Hill, said: "We are excited to be working with WEKA to support global reforestation and reduce the harmful effects of climate change as part of its sustainable AI initiative."
Adding: "WEKA's commitment to planting trees for the software it sells is a prime example of how technology companies can contribute to nature and climate-positive change for our planet."
"Trees provide one of the most effective means for capturing and removing carbon from our atmosphere to combat the damaging effects of climate change. WEKA is thrilled to partner with One Tree Planted to support its critical reforestation efforts," said Martin. Likewise, Martin said he and the team recognise that reforestation is only "one piece of the decarbonization puzzle," and that there is much more work to be done.
"The business, technology, and scientific communities must work together to find ways to make AI and the entire enterprise data stack more sustainable. WEKA is committed to doing its part to help make that happen. Watch this space," he said.
According to the company, while technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and high-performance computing (HPC), are responsible for driving forward innovation, they are also contributing to both the climate and energy crises. The company has outlined that through its initiative, it is trying to bring together industry experts, political, scientific and tech communities and spark society-wide conversation to create more sustainable AI.
Currently, the data center industry consumes around 3% of the global energy supply every year, but increasing use of AI is causing this to increase; its computational overhead has been doubling every few months in the last ten years.
Speaking about this, Jonathan Martin, president at WEKA, said that while public discourse around the benefits and ethics of AI has been "robust and prolific," rarely is AI's environmental impact discussed. Martin says that it's time to change that. He said: "Our planet is experiencing severe distress. If we do not quickly find ways to tame AI's insatiable energy demands and reign in its rapidly expanding carbon footprint, it will only accelerate and intensify the very problems we hoped it would help us solve."
As part of the initiative, WEKA is partnering with One Tree planet, and pledging to plant ten trees for every petabyte of software it sells.
Speaking about this partnership, One Tree Planted founder and Chief Environmental Optimist Matt Hill, said: "We are excited to be working with WEKA to support global reforestation and reduce the harmful effects of climate change as part of its sustainable AI initiative."
Adding: "WEKA's commitment to planting trees for the software it sells is a prime example of how technology companies can contribute to nature and climate-positive change for our planet."
"Trees provide one of the most effective means for capturing and removing carbon from our atmosphere to combat the damaging effects of climate change. WEKA is thrilled to partner with One Tree Planted to support its critical reforestation efforts," said Martin. Likewise, Martin said he and the team recognise that reforestation is only "one piece of the decarbonization puzzle," and that there is much more work to be done.
"The business, technology, and scientific communities must work together to find ways to make AI and the entire enterprise data stack more sustainable. WEKA is committed to doing its part to help make that happen. Watch this space," he said.
