TECH4GOOD
Typhoon Egay barely made landfall when it passed by the northern corridors of the country but it left behind considerable damage to many provinces in Luzon. While many of us are still reeling from its effects, now comes Typhoon Falcon although it is not expected to make landfall. We are now seeing the dawn of a different global weather pattern brought about by climate change. Will digitalization help us mitigate the impact of climate change or will it make the situation even worse?
Digital technology continues to transform how we live, work, and communicate. It is also regarded by the government as a key driver for economic growth and even providing solutions to ensure sustainability. Our increasing digital lives, however, come with a cost. As our lives revolve around digital technology and data, there is growing concern about the environmental impact of digitalization. From the massive amount of energy required to power data centers to the accumulation of electronic waste, the negative side of digital technology is under scrutiny.
While digitalization is seen as a critical driver to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and help deliver the UN SDGs, studies show that our digital activities have a significant impact on the environment. The technology sector is now responsible for two to three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this rate is expected to grow as digitalization continues to take over society.
What are some of the activities that contribute to the environmental impact? It actually involves the whole lifespan of digital devices, from manufacturing and distribution to usage and disposal. It also covers the infrastructure needed for the storage, transmission, and processing of data. That is why raising awareness of the environmental footprint of digital technologies has become urgent in order for us to strike a balance between enabling innovation and protecting society from the unintended risks of digitalization.
The rapid digitalization of society is driving the increased use of digital devices that serve as the gates for the internet. The 2020 Cisco Internet Report estimates that there will be 29.3 billion networked devices by the end of 2023. With the increased use of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, IDC predicts that there will be 55.7 billion connected IoT devices by 2025 some of which, ironically, are used for climate-change mitigation programs.
The technology sector today is responsible for producing 350 to 400 megatons of carbon dioxide alone according to a McKinsey study. Digitalization is about processing, moving, and storing data. An increase in the number of internet users would lead not just to the increase of digital devices but also to an increase in worldwide data traffic. The total volume of data is expected to reach 175 Zettabytes according to IDC, with cloud computing applications driving much of this growth. This trend drives energy demand and the environmental footprint of the Internet despite the progress in energy efficiency and the gradual phasing out of fossil energy.
The release of ChatGPT late last year has generated a lot of buzz about the multiple ways it can change our society and its sweeping implications for every industry.
A Cornell University study in 2019 estimates that training an AI model with 213 million parameters can emit more than 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent. The carbon footprint of ChatGPT should be much higher because it consists of 175 billion parameters. This is just the cost of training the model as they also require energy to respond to prompts from users. Considering the popularity of ChatGPT, the number of requests is estimated to be more than a million per day.
Another lingering issue is the problem of electronic waste. Current practices characterized by high production and consumption rates, short life cycles due to product obsolescence, and limited repair options are fueling the generation of electronic waste.
There is now a need to do something about the environmental impact of digitalization. Data science is emerging as a powerful weapon to tackle the climate crisis. But we need data science to be green and not just generate data for green studies to really reduce the environmental impact of the industry.
The first step to advancing a green and sustainable digital world is to assess the sector’s environmental footprint. Every business must adopt a strategy to advance green data. Having a Digital Cleanup Day is a good way to get rid of unknown and unused data. Extending the average lifetime of digital devices by promoting repairability could save millions of tons of emissions and environmental damage. The government can also help by introducing incentives and setting targets for emission reduction that businesses should comply with.
The use of digital technology can assist in the efforts to combat climate change. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge the environmental effects of digitalization and implement measures to minimize them. This will ensure that digitalization contributes to the creation of a sustainable future. ([email protected])
(The author is an executive member of the National Innovation Council, lead convenor of the Alliance for Technology Innovators for the Nation (ATIN), vice president of the Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines, and Vice President, UP System Information Technology Foundation.)