Experts tell us that Artificial Intelligence has the potential for both environmental benefits and harm. Now Congress wants to monitor those possibilities with the obvious goal in mind of reducing negative impacts.
U.S. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, co-chair of the House AI Caucus, U.S. Congressman Don Beyer, vice-chair of the House AI Caucus, Senator Edward J. Markey, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, and Senator Martin Heinrich, founder and co-chair of the Senate AI Caucus and a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024. The legislation would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standards to measure and report the full range of AI’s environmental impacts, as well as create a voluntary framework for AI developers to report environmental impacts.
In the press release describing the bill, Rep. Eshoo stated, “While researchers increasingly highlight that AI can help tackle environmental challenges, such as accelerating clean energy innovation, providing better weather forecasts, and improving cooling efficiency, the rapid growth of AI also comes with environmental harms. For example, increasing AI use could contribute to data center electricity demand doubling by 2026, leading to more carbon emissions. Demand for water to cool data centers is already creating concerns about water supplies, and the chips needed to run AI software are contributing to a growing mountain of electronic waste.”
Specifically, the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act would:
- Require a Study on the Environmental Impacts of AI: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct a comprehensive study on the environmental impact of AI within two years. The study will examine AI models and hardware’s lifecycle, including energy consumption, pollution, and e-waste, as well as assess the positive and negative environmental impacts of AI’s applications.
- Convene an AI Environmental Impacts Consortium: NIST will convene a consortium of stakeholders to identify measurement needs and standards for AI’s environmental impacts.
- Create a Voluntary Reporting System: NIST will develop a system for entities developing or operating AI to voluntarily report the full range of AI’s environmental impacts.
- Direct a Report to Congress: Within four years, the EPA, the Department of Energy, and NIST must submit a joint report to Congress, detailing the consortium’s findings and describing the voluntary reporting system, as well as providing recommendations for further legislative and executive action.
For more information, check the full text of the bill.