“Chat, how environmentally damaging is this essay?” Gen Z’s obsession with AI is hurting their climate-aware reputation
Gen-Z wants to take care of the planet but is tempted by the convenience of AI.
By Alexandra Cooper
“Right now, it’s not possible to tell how your AI request for homework help will affect carbon emissions or freshwater stocks.” Published by the Yale School of the Environment, David Berreby summed up the problem of Gen Z’s relationship with AI: Everyone seems to be using it, and no one is sure of the environmental impact it’s having.
Last month, New York Magazine released a long-form article that subsequently went viral. Titled, “Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College,” the article highlights the ways that some college and university students in Canada and the U.S. are using AI to do their school work for them — even going so far as to prompt ChatGPT to “write it as a college freshman who is a li’l dumb,” or run the same AI-generated essay through three different AI models to adjust it for tone and evade AI-detecting programs. While writer James D. Walsh was focusing on the implications of rampant AI use on academic integrity and the future of higher education, something more worrying is going on.
Gen Z, the so-called bleeding hearts, climate-“woke” generation, is using AI for everything. Gen Z has the likes of Greta Thunberg and Licypriya Kangujam in its ranks. They have participated in school walk-outs, made thrift stores cool again in the name of “slow fashion”, rallied outside legislatures, and warranted the naming of a new genre of anxiety and stress disorder (eco- or climate anxiety). A recent Deloitte survey found that 65 per cent of Gen Zs said they had felt worried or anxious about the environment in the past month. The same survey found that 57 per cent of Gen Zs regularly use generative AI in their work.
How can it be that the most climate-aware generation seems oblivious to the detrimental impacts of their AI use? Others have also noticed this juxtaposition. Day One is a storytelling and branding agency that helps brands connect with young consumers, including Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Earlier this year, Day One asked its Gen Z feedback base: “Can you care about sustainability and still use AI?” and they got some incredible responses. All of their participants confirmed that they used AI in some capacity every single day, and all of them believed that Gen Z is not adequately informed about the environmental implications associated with AI.
It is hard to be an informed consumer, especially when it comes to the environmental impacts of the goods and services we use. I would argue that the novelty, intangibility, and complexity of AI makes users feel even more in the dark about the end-of-the-line consequences of the use of these products. However, these consequences are getting harder to ignore.
Researchers at Cornell University estimate that training the GPT-3 model in U.S. Microsoft data centres can directly evaporate 700 000 litres of water. The same team estimates that in 2027, the global demand for AI will account for between 4.2 and 6.6 billion cubic metres of water withdrawal, which is up to six times more than the annual water withdrawal of Denmark. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that the process of training a common large AI model can emit more than 620,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. In some countries, data centres that power AI are responsible for almost a third of total energy consumption.
Walsh’s article in New York notes that students’ AI usage is likely interfering with their capacity for human creativity and intelligence. Problem-solving and critical thinking skills, memory, self-esteem, and work ethic may all be at risk due to this generation’s over-reliance on AI tools. Much like the environmental impact, the full human impact of AI remains to be seen.
There is a cognitive dissonance at play here. Gen Z is staring down the barrel of the climate crisis. We are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of climate change and ecological destruction. We want to do what we can to take care of the planet, but we also want to make our lives easier with AI. As the environmental impacts of AI become more transparent and known, Gen Z must course-correct to ensure that AI use and development aligns with the future we envision for our planet.
Alexandra Cooper joins the Max Bell School from Ottawa, where she has lived for six years, having grown up north of Toronto. While completing her honours degree in political science at the University of Ottawa, she served on the Board of Directors for her student union and completed several Co-op education work terms and internships. Alexandra has worked in the Government of Canada for four years, most recently as an Advisor and Junior Analyst in social policy at the Privy Council Office. Alexandra’s policy interests include Open Government and transparency, democratic accountability and citizen participation, and federalism. She is eager to expand her knowledge of complex public policy systems and explore challenging, multifaceted policy issues in the MPP program.