Trump megabill preventing artificial intelligence regulation could harm planet’s climate
U.S. Republicans in Congress are currently working to pass a tax and spending bill that may include a provision banning states from regulating artificial intelligence (AI)—a move that could increase the technology’s electricity consumption and worsen climate change, according to experts.
A June 27 Guardian article explained that data centers used to run AI require large amounts of electricity, producing high levels of greenhouse gases. “By limiting oversight, [the bill] could slow the transition away from fossil fuels and reduce incentives for more energy-efficient AI energy reliance,” said Gianluca Guidi, visiting graduate student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was quoted in the article.
“We talk a lot about what AI can do for us, but not nearly enough about what it’s doing to the planet,” Guidi added. “If we’re serious about using AI to improve human well-being, we can’t ignore the growing toll it’s taking on climate stability and public health.”
The provision preventing AI regulation was included in the version of the bill initially passed in May by the House of Representatives. On July 1, the Senate passed a different version of the bill that struck the provision. The bill now returns to the House of Representative for another vote.
Read the Guardian article: Trump’s tax bill seeks to prevent AI regulations. Experts fear a heavy toll on the planet
