Al will be more of a help than a hindrance to hitting climate targets, says Bill Gates

Bill Gates has claimed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be more of a help than a hindrance in achieving climate goals, despite growing concern that new data centers could deplete green energy supplies.

The Microsoft co-founder said Al will enable countries to use less energy, even as they require more data centers, by making technology and power grids more efficient.

Also, Gates played down fears over Al's impact on the climate, amid growing concerns that technological progress could lead to an increase in energy demand and require more fossil fuels.

According to estimates by Goldman Sachs, a query directed through AI chatbot ChatGPT needs nearly 10 times more electricity to process than a Google search, which could mean that carbon emissions from data is doubled.

Gates at a conference in London organized by his venture fund Breakthrough Energy said that technology companies are "seriously willing" to pay extra to use clean sources of electricity.

"Technology companies are willing to pay a premium and help increase green energy capacity," he added.

It is announced that Breakthrough Energy has invested in more than 100 companies involved in the energy transition, writes the Guardian, the Telegraph reports.

Gates is also a major investor in AI through the Gates Foundation Trust, which invests about a third of its $77 billion fortune in Microsoft.

In turn, Microsoft is the largest outside investor in ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and has built a suite of AI tools into its Windows operating system under the Copilot brand.

But energy use in a data center is only part of the concern about the carbon impact of AI.

Gates warned that despite advances in AI and green electricity technology, the world is likely to miss its climate targets by 15 years.

He said a delay in the transition to green energy could hinder the decarbonisation of polluting sectors, including heavy industry, making it harder to achieve the target of achieving net zero emissions.

"I worry, in general, that the amount of green electricity we need for the transition will not appear nearly as quickly as we need it," Gates said.

Separately, Gates' warning came a week after a global report found that, despite a record increase in renewable energy in 2023, fossil fuel consumption also climbed to a new record as a result of continued rising demand. /Telegraph/