GenAI and Sustainability

• Generative AI (GenAI) is a smart assistant that creates reports, designs, or ideas by learning from data.
• Sustainability involves business practices that protect the planet, support people, and save money long-term.
• Responsible AI use is necessary to avoid harming the environment.

Generative AI

• Generative AI can write emails, design logos, or predict sales trends by studying patterns.
• Training AI tools consumes considerable energy, roughly equivalent to the electricity used by 1,300 homes for a year.

Sustainability

• Sustainability involves:
  • Reducing waste (e.g., using less paper or energy)
  • Fair labor practices and ensuring company longevity without harming future generations

Combining GenAI and Sustainability

• GenAI can expedite solutions to significant issues like climate change.
• Balancing AI's energy consumption with its benefits is essential.

Smarter Energy Use

• Google utilized AI to forecast solar/wind power availability, reducing reliance on coal.
• AI analyzes weather data to predict energy needs, aiding in decisions like when to use rooftop solar panels.

Waste Reduction

• A company employed AI cameras to identify recyclable materials in waste, achieving a 37% reduction in waste.
• AI scans production lines, suggests material reuse, and auto-fills sustainability reports.

Risks and Mitigation Strategies

• AI consumes a lot of energy which can be mitigated by running AI tasks when solar/wind energy is plentiful.
• AI potentially replaces jobs and can be mitigated by training employees to work WITH AI
• AI might make biased decisions, this can be mitigated by having diverse teams review AI suggestions

Individual Roles

• Individuals should be asking "Is this AI task worth the energy cost?"
• Individuals should be reporting biases (e.g., if AI keeps ignoring eco-friendly suppliers).

Sustainable AI Practices

• Track Progress
  • Monitoring AI impact is important.
• Use AI Sparingly
• Limited and thoughtful AI use is emphasized.
• Share Ideas
  • Encourages team collaboration on Al uses
• Pick Eco-Friendly Tools
  • Advocates for Al tools using renewable energy

Using AI Sparingly

• Using AI to draft a report, but manually editing it instead of allowing the AI to rewrite it multiple times is an example of using AI sparingly.

Eco-Friendly Tools

• IT should make an effort to procure AI tools that run on renewable energy.

Sharing Ideas

• Suggest AI uses within your team.
  • HR: Use AI to check if job ads are inclusive.
  • Sales: Use AI to find clients who want eco-products.

Tracking progress

• Celebrate wins!
  • For example, recognize when "Using AI cut our packaging waste by 20% this quarter."

Key points

• AI is a tool that is powerful but risky if misused.
• Small changes add up (e.g., timing AI tasks saves energy).
• Speak up if something seems unfair or wasteful.

Questions to ask yourself

• What's one task in your job where AI could save time and reduce waste?
  • Example: AI sorts customer emails to prioritize eco-related questions.
• Who could you team up with to make AI use greener in your department?
• What's one thing you'll start doing tomorrow?

Explore the intersection of Generative AI (GenAI) and sustainability, focusing on its potential to address climate change and the importance of responsible AI use. Balancing AI's energy consumption with its benefits is essential for long-term sustainability. Discover how businesses can adopt practices that protect the planet, support people, and save money.