According to new research, the massive data centers that drive artificial intelligence consume enormous quantities of energy, but they also have another concerning effect. More than 340 million people’s lives are becoming hotter as a result of their “heat islands,” which are warming the surrounding area by up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit.
Even as data centers proliferate, there are still significant gaps in our knowledge of their effects, according to Andrea Marinoni, an associate professor at the University of Cambridge’s Earth Observation group and one of the study’s authors. The paper has not yet undergone peer review.
Marinoni and his associates made the decision to investigate one understudied effect: the heat emitted by their energy-intensive operations, such as computation and cooling system power.
In order to accomplish this, they mapped the locations of AI “hyperscalers,” which are enormous data centers that hold thousands of servers and may span more than a million square feet and were primarily constructed over the last ten years, against temperature data collected over the last twenty years from remote sensors.
They concentrated on almost 6,000 data centers that were situated far from densely populated areas since the surface temperatures in these places were less likely to have been impacted by other factors like house heating or industry. Seasonal effects, trends in global warming, and other influences were also eliminated by the researchers.
They discovered that after a data center began operations, surface temperatures rose by an average of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Nearby temperatures can rise by as much as 16.4 degrees Fahrenheit in severe circumstances.
The researchers discovered that these increases were uniform worldwide. For instance, the study discovered inexplicable temperature increases of about 3.6 degrees during the previous 20 years in the Bajio region of Mexico, which has developed into a data center powerhouse. A similar issue was reported in Aragon, Spain, a European center for hyperscale AI data centers, which showed a temperature spike of 3.6 degrees which was not duplicated in nearby provinces.
Remarkably, the effects extended beyond the immediate vicinity of a data center; the study discovered that temperature rises had an influence on regions up to 6.2 miles away, impacting over 340 million people.
According to the scientists, the results are especially concerning because AI data centers are expected to grow significantly over the next years, and these temperature increases coincide with the fact that pollution caused by global warming is already intensifying heat waves worldwide.
According to Marinoni, the anticipated expansion of data centers “could have dramatic impacts on society” in terms of the economy, people’s wellbeing, and the environment.
Deborah Andrews, emeritus professor of design for sustainability and circularity at London South Bank University, who was not involved in the research, said there are plenty of concerns over the implications of data centers but this was the first report she’d seen concentrating on the heat they emit.
According to her, “the ‘rush for AI-gold’ appears to be overriding good practice and systemic thinking and is developing far more rapidly than any broader, more sustainable systems.”
To confirm the findings, more research is required, according to other specialists. According to Ralph Hintemann, a senior researcher at the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability, the study offers “some interesting figures,” but the effects claimed “seem very high.” “The emissions produced by power generation for data centers remain the more alarming aspect in terms of climate change,” he continued.
Marinoni hopes the study will encourage further conversation about mitigating the effects of AI. He said, “There might still be time to consider the possibility of a different path… without affecting the demand of AI and its ability to provide progress for humanity.”
