AI advancements can advance environmental inequities and health harms

Abstract

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) is progressively being utilized in many industries. In order to meet the increasingly computational AI demands, more data centers are being developed. Unfortunately, health concerns related to climate change, energy consumption, air pollution, noise pollution, and water pollution from data centers have been rising. Furthermore, the development of these data centers exacerbates harms that vulnerable and marginalized communities that already bear the brunt of existing environment injustices and health inequities. This paper aims to discuss these concerns and how they can perpetuate these environmental and health impacts and inequities.