The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping societal norms and industries by offering new information for disaster preparedness, energy efficiency, and resource management. However, this progress comes with a growing power demand which raises concerns about sustainability.
According to Bhoomi Gadhia, senior product marketing manager at NVIDIA, a California-based tech company, AI’s precise calculations allow for unprecedented weather and natural disaster prediction. She believes that AI’s advancements in meteorology will help improve disaster preparedness and help combat climate change.
“Taiwan is crucial to global technology, supplying chips for phones, TVs, and computers,” Gadhia said. “By improving typhoon prediction accuracy, AI helps them develop better evacuation plans, reinforce buildings, and protect critical infrastructure.”
The increase in AI usage has required a lot of additional power. In 2023, Statista estimated that AI’s power usage would be 4.5 gigawatts, enough to power 3.5 million U.S. homes and accounts for approximately 8% of data center energy consumption. Haynes Strader, the Chief Development Officer at Skybox Datacenters, commented on the need for support as AI use expands.
“AI is creating huge demand for computing power, but it’s also driving profitability for some of the biggest companies in the world, many of which are committed to carbon neutrality,” Strader said. “This alignment presents an opportunity to invest in energy solutions that benefit both the environment and the economy.”
Based on the power that AI uses, there have been some legislative bills relying on sustainable energy. In January 2025, there was an executive order put out by former President Joe Biden that outlined the timeframe and structure for developing AI, emphasizing the development of clean energy production to power AI. Strader views sustainable energy being a long-term goal for data centers that can be accomplished through large-scale funding.
“Transitioning to truly sustainable energy solutions requires long-term investments in nuclear and hydropower,” Strader said. “For example, the last commercial nuclear power plant built in the U.S. was completed last year in Georgia. It took 30 years to get permitted and constructed and was billions of dollars over budget.”
As AI progresses, its capabilities increase longevity in many fields by providing help for challenging projects. A noted example is in the mining industry where locating rare metals is made easier with the help of AI, according to ScienceDirect
“AI is helping improve mining efficiency,” Gadhia said. “Instead of digging blindly, AI-powered models allow more precise targeting, reducing unnecessary excavation and waste. Once lithium is mined, we have a library called Coolito, which optimizes the chip design process with nanometer-level precision. This reduces material waste, making chip manufacturing more efficient and environmentally friendly.”
According to Liberman, a video manager at NVIDIA, AI does undoubtedly consume a large amount of energy. However, while AI innovation remains rapid and its future is still, to a certain extent, speculative, Liberman explained that its potential to benefit humanity is ultimately greater than its environmental impact.
“Every industry has some environmental impact,” Liberman said. “The question is whether the benefit outweighs the impact. AI has the potential to do great good for humanity, but to reach that potential, it must become sustainable, ubiquitous, and accessible.”
