Tech Giants Enable Climate Chaos with Big Oil Partnership
A new study reveals that data centers are not the biggest climate problem with artificial intelligence (AI), but rather how fossil fuel companies use AI technology to boost production.
Researchers found that oil giants like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP are working with tech companies Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to develop custom AI tools. These tools could trigger 3.3 to 13.3 times more climate pollution than the emissions from AI data centers.
The study's authors sent requests to Microsoft, Google, and Amazon to respond to their findings, but only Amazon provided a response.
Amazon claimed that its custom technology is helping oil companies become less 'carbon intensive', but this is seen as greenwashing. The company's spokesperson said they support sustainability programs for their own business, but these efforts do not address the emissions enabled by their AI services.