With the surge in demand for artificial intelligence and large-scale data processing, data centers, as the infrastructure for these operations, are having an increasingly negative environmental impact. A recent research report delves into the environmental and regulatory issues associated with AI data centers, highlighting the urgent need for improvements in the current policy framework to address the growing consumption of energy and water resources. Image source note: The image is generated by AI and licensed through the service provider Midjourney. The research report emphasizes significant gaps in the current approaches of the EU and the US in this field, calling for countries to develop more robust regulations.

According to the Globe and Mail, the Canadian federal government is considering introducing incentives of up to CAD 15 billion to encourage major domestic pension funds to invest in AI data centers powered by green energy. This proposal was made during private consultations with pension funds and may be considered as part of the government's fall economic statement. Image source note: Image generated by AI, image authorized by service provider Midjourney. With the rapid development of AI technology, platforms like OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Meta is investing $10 billion to build a large AI data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana. This data center will be the largest of Meta's 20 data centers, with construction expected to begin this month and continue until 2030. It is reported that it will be optimized to support Meta's AI workloads, aiding in the operation of Meta's technologies including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.

Facebook's parent company Meta plans to invest billions of dollars in a new AI data center in northern Louisiana. The project is expected to create between 300 and 500 jobs and help enhance Louisiana's position in critical technological infrastructure. According to an application submitted to state regulators, an unnamed company plans to build a 'large-scale facility with economic transformation potential' near Holly Ridge in Richland Parish.

Recently, an analysis by The Guardian revealed that there may be serious misleading practices by tech companies in handling the environmental impact of their AI data centers. The emission data reported by tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Apple significantly diverges from reality. According to this analysis, the actual emissions from these companies are 662% higher than the figures they officially disclose, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, as this study only covers data from 2020 to 2022. Image source note: Image generated by AI, image licensed from service provider Midjou.

金融巨头高盛的一份研究通讯警告称，大型科技公司已加大资本支出以推动生成式人工智能的发展，但尚未展示可持续的商业模式。该投行估计，在未来几年将有约1万亿美元用于数据中心、半导体、电网升级和其他人工智能基础设施。