Artists have long worked with digital media—from audio and video elements to light displays and robotics. Now some are embracing a new technology: artificial intelligence (AI). But the use of AI comes with some serious environmental downsides. That’s led many people to question whether the technology should have a place in art—even when that art makes a statement about AI’s negative impacts on the planet.
AI models are computer programs that use massive amounts of data to learn to perform specific tasks, like summarizing internet searches and choosing content for users on social media. The AI assistant ChatGPT, for example, researches and brainstorms ideas in response to prompts from 2.5 billion users each day!
Processing all those requests requires massive data centers filled with thousands of computers. Each center consumes large amounts of water to keep overheating computers cool. Data centers also require a lot of energy to operate. Most of that energy comes from burning fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and natural gas, which produces pollution that drives climate change.
These issues prompted artist Ronen Tanchum to create In Bloom, above, with AI. It transforms data into digital flowers that bloom and wilt based on people’s real-time demands on the power grid.
Tanchum aims to show how nature is affected by the energy used to fuel modern technology, like AI. He hopes it will inspire people to work toward a greener future. But some argue that any use of AI is problematic, even in art, because of the technology’s toll on the planet.