Sustainability and AI: Complimentary or Contradictory? | An Interview with Natasha Wutun

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gradually seeping into every corner of human life—they are our teachers, our artists, and sometimes even our therapists. Our daily routines have evolved with AI’s growing presence; much like getting up out of bed or tying our shoelaces, it’s practically muscle memory. However, behind its charms and convenience, we often overlook a major hidden cost: its impact on the environment.

According to UNEP, data centres housing these servers consume massive amounts of water, fuelling scarcity, electronic waste and creating reliance on unsustainably-sourced minerals and elements. Even typing minor prompts leaves traces of carbon footprints everywhere. This raises an important question: if Sustainability and AI are two edges of the same sword, are they destined to clash, or can they actually co-exist?

At REGROOVE, we were able to explore this idea further by interviewing a Law student and the founder of the Association Youth for Inclusive & Interdisciplinary AI (AYC), Natasha Wutun. Natasha is passionate about the fields of technology, law, and sustainability, applying these 3 pillars to build diplomacy and international partnerships between institutions and companies. She shed a new light on what may seem like a contradictory notion, reframing the way we see technology.

Natasha acknowledges the substantial energy used to power large AI models; however, she explains, “But I tend to see this moment not as a contradiction, but as an invitation: an invitation to rethink how technology is built, powered, and governed.” She continues, ”AI itself is not inherently unsustainable; the way we currently train and deploy it can be. And once we acknowledge that distinction, the conversation shifts. AI becomes a tool that can either intensify the problem or be redirected to solve it.”

Natasha highlights how, instead of pointing fingers entirely at AI, we, as users and developers, have an equal obligation to employ these technologies wisely, especially to achieve sustainability. She points out how AI could be used to fine-tune energy grids for electrical efficiency, mapping real-time deforestation and coral bleaching, and provide policymakers with data they’ve never had access to. Beyond that, it can also redefine agriculture by predicting rainfall, soil health, and crop suitability, allowing farmers to use far less water and fertiliser. AI is programmed to spot such data inefficiencies humans would have missed; it becomes a reliable extra set of eyes, processing heaps of information where manual monitoring would’ve fallen short.

Natasha emphasises the need for technologies such as AI to develop greener data centres, renewable-powered training, and transparent energy reporting as ways. By actively striving to incorporate Sustainability and technology, even the most energy-consuming tools like AI can serve humanity in building a cleaner future. As such, Sustainability and AI are not necessarily contradictory; though they are interlinked, they go hand in hand to shape global resilience and progress.

References:

UNEP. “AI Has an Environmental Problem. Here’s What the World Can Do about That.” UNEP, 21 Sept. 2024, www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/ai-has-environmental-problem-heres-what-world-can-do-about.