Generative AI could saddle the planet with1 heaps of more hazardous waste.

生成式人工智能可能产生大量有害垃圾，加重地球负担。

Every time generative artificial intelligence drafts an e-mail or conjures up an image， the planet pays for it. Making two images can consume as much energy as charging a smartphone; a single exchange with ChatGPT can heat up a server so much that it requires a 16-ounce bottle’s worth of water to cool it. At scale， these costs soar. By 2027 the global AI sector could annually consume as much electricity as the Netherlands， according to one 2023 study. And recent research in Nature Computational Science identifies another concern： AI’s outsize contribution to the world’s mounting heap of electronic waste. The study found that generative AI applications alone could add 1.2 million to five million metric tons of this hazardous trash to the planet by 2030， depending on how quickly the industry grows.

每次用生成式人工智能编写一封邮件或生成一张图片，地球都要付出相应代价。生成两张图片所消耗的能源相当于给手机充一次电；与ChatGPT进行一次对话，需要1瓶16盎司瓶装水的水量来冷却服务器产生的热量。随着规模提升，这些成本将激增。根据2023年的一项研究，到2027年，全球人工智能领域的年耗电量可能与荷兰全国相当。《自然-计算科学》杂志近期刊登的一项研究指出另外一个问题：全球大量累积的电子垃圾有相当大比例来自人工智能。研究显示，到2030年，仅生成式人工智能应用一项就会给全球新增120万吨至500万吨此类有害垃圾，具体数值取决于行业发展速度。

Such a contribution would add to the tens of millions of tons of electronic products the globe discards annually. Cell phones， microwave ovens， computers， and other ubiquitous digital products often contain mercury， lead， or other toxic substances. When improperly discarded， they can contaminate air， water and soil. The United Nations found that in 2022 about 78 percent of the world’s e-waste wound up in landfills or at unofficial recycling sites， where laborers risk their health to scavenge2 rare metals.

这将无异于雪上加霜，因为全世界已经每年废弃数千万吨电子产品。手机、微波炉、电脑和其他无处不在的数码产品常含有汞、铅或其他有毒物质，不当丢弃会污染空气、水源和土壤。联合国数据显示，在2022年，全世界约78%的电子垃圾最终会进入垃圾填埋场或非正规回收站，工人在那里冒着健康风险搜集稀有金属。

The worldwide AI boom rapidly churns through physical data-storage devices， plus the graphics-processing units and other high-performance components needed to process thousands of simultaneous calculations. This hardware lasts anywhere from two to five years， but it’s often replaced as soon as newer versions become available. Asaf Tzachor， a sustainability researcher at Israel’s Reichman University， who co-authored the new study， says its findings emphasize the need to monitor and reduce this technology’s environmental impacts.

席卷全球的人工智能热潮正急速消耗实体数据存储设备，以及用来处理数以千计同时计算的图形处理器等高性能组件。