As Canada eyes AI growth, could electricity demands fuel climate change? – National [Video]

Could the electricity needed to power artificial intelligence make climate change worse?

The federal government pledged $2.4 billion to build out artificial intelligence projects in Canada in the recent budget on top of billions in federal funding over recent years, and a national strategy on AI.

Canada’s Competition Bureau noted in a discussion paper in March that the AI in Canada is seeing a “rapid evolution” that raises questions about how best to ensure the evolving landscape is competitive and fostering innovation.

At the same time, a report earlier this year from the International Energy Agency warned that “electricity consumption from data centres, artificial intelligence (AI) and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026.”

It states the AI industry in 2026 is “expected to have grown exponentially to consume at least 10 times its demand in 2023.”

Alex de Vries, a Ph.D candidate focusing on the environmental impacts of emerging technologies at Dutch university VU …