From AI conflation to thin evidence, a new report calls many climate claims greenwashing

Some AI advocates claim that bots hold the secret to mitigating climate change. But research shows that the reality is far different, as new datacenters cause power utilities to burn even more fossil fuels to meet their insatiable demand for energy.

It has been a common refrain of late that, as the tech industry's single-minded focus hones in on AI, abandoning climate pledges in the process and embracing quick-to-build fossil fuel power plants to drive its datacenters, the AI being spun up in new mega facilities would simply solve the problem for them.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has pushed that line of reasoning, as has Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, both arguing that AI's long-term climate benefits could outweigh, or help offset, the emissions associated with the growing power demands of datacenters. Others, including the International Energy Agency, claim to have support for the same.

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