Hey Chat, how much do you cost the environment when you answer my questions?

Earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates became the world’s first country to offer free access to ChatGPT Plus — the premium version of ChatGPT — to all its citizens. The premium version is faster and more consistent than the normal version; it also can hold voice conversations, upload and analyze your files, and generate its own images for your use.

This is just the beginning for OpenAI, ChatGPT’s parent company. OpenAI has announced intentions to partner with as many nations as possible through its “OpenAI for Countries program.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has already described the UAE project as a “bold vision,” per Axios. Wrapping artificial intelligence around the world would constitute an even bolder, more radical vision for a global population increasingly dependent on AI.

But can the Earth take it?

But there are concerns about the vast amounts of natural resources sucked up by AI, depleting reservoirs and requiring additional energy.

Meanwhile, politicians, business leaders and climate advocates continue to grapple over the consequences.

Texas leads the way with AI development

About 34% of Americans rely on AI to help them accomplish some of their day-to-day activities, per polling from tech monitor Elf Sight. That’s evidence of the early adoption of AI — especially because ChatGPT, which marked the beginning of the widespread AI craze, only launched in 2022.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman became a billionaire in the following years. He was also a large donor to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and attended his inauguration.

The day after the inauguration, he made a public statement thanking the president for investing $500 billion into “Stargate,” which will develop AI infrastructure for the U.S.

“For (AI) to get built here, to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, to create a new industry centered here, we wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President, and I’m thrilled that we get to,” Altman said, per ABC News.

Since Inauguration Day, the Trump administration has poured hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding into Stargate, which is being co-developed by tech giants OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. Thousands of acres near Abilene, Texas, have been earmarked for development, according to The Dallas Express.

There is no word yet on how Stargate might affect the state’s energy grid — which failed during natural disasters last year, leaving thousands of Texans in temporary darkness — or how it might affect the environment of a state already 41% under drought.

Nevertheless, many Texans and national leaders eagerly anticipate economic expansion. And they and the UAE (which is getting its own Stargate through its deal with OpenAI) aren’t alone in the rush to AI.

OpenAI says that, after its “unprecedented investment” in American infrastructure, they have “heard from many countries” petitioning them to integrate AI into their countries, too — meaning personalized digital servants tailored for regional dialects, government structures and social needs and customs.

The OpenAI for Countries program is fit for them. But researchers say it may not be fit for the environment.

What happens when you hit ‘send’ on ChatGPT

“Just because this is called ‘cloud computing’ doesn’t mean the hardware lives in the cloud. Data centers (for AI) are present in our physical world ... they have direct and indirect implications for biodiversity,” said Noman Bashir, a climate researcher at MIT.

Generative AI drinks a bottle of water per every 100-word email it writes. The electricity required by the massive machines powering programs like ChatGPT, Siri and Alexa is approaching levels equal to that of large countries like Russia, per research from MIT. ChatGPT alone daily uses enough electricity to power the Empire State Building — for a year and a half. Tremendous amounts of fossil fuels, including diesel and crude oil, go into training generative AI.

And energy needs are only multiplying. The Harvard Business Review reports that data centers, or the physical facilities that hold information and communications systems (like the 900-acre facility planned for Stargate in Texas), are responsible for 2%-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The volume of data across the world doubles in size every two years.

“There is still much we don’t know about the environmental impact of AI but some of the data we do have is concerning,” said Golestan Radwan, who heads a United Nations environment agency. “We need to make sure the net effect of AI on the planet is positive before we deploy the technology at scale.”

Radwan’s agency recommends that countries begin tracking AI’s environmental impact. At the moment, most countries have few, if any, standards for AI environmental output. They also encourage countries to establish sustainability regulations around AI.

Finally, they urge tech companies to streamline their programs and begin recycling components and water.

Canny AI researchers are already at work to develop “green” AI — also known as sustainable or “net zero” AI — that could minimize the carbon footprints left by generative AI as it sprints across the globe.

But researchers also warn that green AI comes at the price of efficiency. The smarter the AI, the more energy it uses.

Earlier in May, a Republican-led tax bill proposed barring states from regulating AI for the next 10 years.

Last year, state legislatures across the country passed over 100 regulations surrounding AI; the tax bill would prevent state lawmakers from enforcing these regulations.

“We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off,” Vice President JD Vance told AI developers and regulators at a summit in Paris. “And I’d like to see that deregulatory flavor making a lot of the conversations this conference.”

Making AI greener: What can you do?

Researchers at the Harvard Business Review recommend ways an individual can reduce their AI-created environmental impact.

• Use existing AI — don’t make your own program. Creating and training AI programs requires vast amounts of energy. There are already a myriad of AI programs available, many for free, and many specific to certain businesses or regions to cater to their personal needs.
• Use AI only when you really need it. Machine learning models are excellent at helping scientists predict natural disasters and understand diseases. They are less valuable for providing answers, especially when answers are often hallucinated. Writing emails and asking questions of ChatGPT “may be depleting the Earth’s health more than ... helping its people,” say Harvard researchers.

• Use companies committed to using renewable energy for AI. Some companies are more energy-efficient than other companies. OpenAI plans to use solar energy to power Stargate. In a twist, Microsoft has committed to using AI to develop sustainable energy solutions.