AI and sustainability – between innovation and resource consumption

1. AI is here, and its use is resource-intensive

Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been part of our everyday lives, be it in voice assistants, image recognition or data-based decision-making processes. However, every AI query requires enormous computing power. According to a study by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, training a large language model can generate up to 284 tons of CO₂ – comparable to the emissions of five cars over their entire lifetime (Strubell et al., 2019).

2. Electricity consumption and origin

The energy requirements for AI data centers are immense, and the power source is crucial. Google has been working since 2017 to power its data centers with 100% renewable energy (Google Sustainability Report 2021). OpenAI is also increasingly using green energy, although the exact composition of the electricity mix may vary. AI users can already exert influence by giving preference to data centers that demonstrably use green energy.

3. What to do? Can we do without AI?

It is no longer realistic to do without AI, as it increases efficiency and replaces manual processes – often while conserving resources. In the medical and hotel industries, for example, AI can optimize processes and save energy. To reduce energy consumption, optimized prompting (precise and short requests) can reduce the resources required per interaction. The use of smaller, specialized models also contributes to sustainability.

4. Positive outlook and current progress

While AI and sustainability are in conflict, progress is being made: more efficient model architectures and specially developed AI chips such as Google’s TPU v4 significantly reduce energy consumption (Google Cloud TPU v4). OpenAI continues to invest in models that require less energy while maintaining the same performance. In the long term, such developments can improve the environmental footprint of AI use.

5. Use of AI in the Hotel Luise

At the hotel, we have also recognized that AI is an important step towards remaining competitive and that it can support us in our daily tasks. Time-consuming processes can be made more efficient and employees are relieved, leaving them more time for the essentials: our guests! Since 2024, we have been using an AI chatbot from DialogShift on the website, which means that many guest questions can already be answered in advance. We also have an AI from Rateboard that helps us with pricing. We are aware that using AI is very resource-intensive. That’s why we only use it when it can make processes more efficient. It is not a search engine alternative for us.

*Post image is AI generated