AI Greenwashing - Plenty Of Unsupported Claims, Along With Conflation Of Traditional With Massive Generative AI

Ed. - Multiple links at article.

Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report. Most claims that AI can help avert climate breakdown refer to machine learning and not the energy-hungry chatbots and image generation tools driving the sector’s explosive growth of gas-guzzling datacentres, the analysis of 154 statements found.

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Green claims even for traditional AI tended to rely on weak forms of evidence that had not been independently verified, the analysis found. Only 26% of the green claims that were studied cited published academic research, while 36% did not cite evidence at all. One of the earliest examples identified in the report was a widespread claim that AI could help mitigate 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The figure, which Google repeated as recently as April last year, came from a report it commissioned from BCG, a consulting firm, which cited a blogpost it wrote in 2021 that attributed the figure to its “experience with clients”.

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While the energy consumption of a simple text query to a large language model such as ChatGPT may be as little as running a lightbulb for a minute, partial industry disclosures suggest, it rises considerably for complex functions such as video generation and deep research, and has troubled some energy researchers with the speed and scale of its growth.

A spokesperson for Google said: “Our estimated emissions reductions are based on a robust substantiation process grounded in the best available science, and we have transparently shared the principles and methodology that guide it.” Microsoft declined to comment, while the IEA did not respond to requests for comment.

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/17/tech-companies-traditional-ai-generative-climate-breakdown-report