Sign in

Digiconomist

@digiconomist.bsky.social
565 followers 7 following 72 posts

Exposing the Unintended Consequences of Digital Trends.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Over the past year, my research has first highlighted the rapidly growing power demand of AI systems, followed by an assessment of the associated carbon and water footprints. My latest research addresses another, often overlooked consequence of the expanding AI infrastructure: electronic waste.
132
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
• Substantial AI e-waste persists, underscoring the need for data center transparency. The full article is available open access and can be accessed here: doi.org/10.1016/j.re...
doi.org
Redirecting
000
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
• AI systems may contribute less to global e-waste than previously anticipated. • The gap highlights the need for supply-chain data and realistic AI server lifespans. • 2030 AI e-waste could still match Denmark, Norway, or Austria’s 2022 e-waste.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
While this is not the first attempt to examine AI-related e-waste, it is the first estimate grounded in supply-side data, rather than inferred from demand-side assumptions. The main findings are as follows: • By 2030, AI servers could generate 131.0–224.8 kilotons of e-waste per year.
110
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Over the past year, my research has first highlighted the rapidly growing power demand of AI systems, followed by an assessment of the associated carbon and water footprints. My latest research addresses another, often overlooked consequence of the expanding AI infrastructure: electronic waste.
132
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Let’s start the year by reflecting on the colossal growth in the resource consumption of AI and what it means for 2026. At the start of 2025, the worldwide power demand of AI systems was approximately 9.4 GW. By the end of the year, this demand had likely increased to around 23 GW.
124
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Links: Power demand of AI systems: doi.org/10.1016/j.jo... Carbon and water footprint of AI: doi.org/10.1016/j.pa...
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
000
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
The balance between private gains and public costs is profoundly skewed, and the industry has little incentive to address this imbalance openly. Achieving sustainable growth in data centers and AI will therefore require a fundamental rebalancing—one that must begin with transparency.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
My research shows that the sector as a whole resists accountability and withholds critical information needed to assess the true impacts of (generative) AI.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
What does seem certain, however, is that data center operators will continue to shift the full cost of their growing negative externalities onto society.
110
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
For 2026, the upper end of these ranges effectively marks the starting point for the current year. How this will evolve remains uncertain, with the most pressing question being whether technology companies will be able to secure sufficient power to meet their rapidly growing demand.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Operating AI systems worldwide may therefore result in a carbon footprint comparable to that of New York City in 2025, while the water footprint could fall within the range of global annual bottled water consumption.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
This power demand translates into a carbon footprint of between 32.6 and 79.7 million tons of CO₂ emissions in 2025, while the associated water footprint could reach 312.5–764.6 billion liters.
101
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
This level of electricity consumption is comparable to that of Bitcoin mining and is approaching half of total global data center electricity consumption (ex crypto mining) in 2024. To put this into further perspective, it is nearing the amount of electricity required by a country such as the UK.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Let’s start the year by reflecting on the colossal growth in the resource consumption of AI and what it means for 2026. At the start of 2025, the worldwide power demand of AI systems was approximately 9.4 GW. By the end of the year, this demand had likely increased to around 23 GW.
124
Reposted by Digiconomist
Leana Hosea @leanahosea.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The UK’s largest planned data centre—a project by US firm QTS—is understating its true water consumption by a factor of 50, says new analysis by @watershed-i.bsky.social & @aiarmsracebook.bsky.social @digiconomist.bsky.social No mistake; AI is a heavy, polluting industry. shorturl.at/KXQxJ
theguardian.com
UK’s largest proposed datacentre ‘understating planned water use’
Analysis suggests consumption at Northumberland site could be 50 times higher than US operator QTS estimates
6210148
Reposted by Digiconomist
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 22/08/2025
HEY friends: recently seen heaps of "disclosures" from AI companies of the energy cost per question you type into chatbots (most recently from Google)? Presenting per-query 'efficiency' is part of big tech's efforts to hide its extremely real and happening-right-now climate impacts! NEW POST -->>>
ketanjoshi.co
Big tech’s selective disclosure masks AI’s real climate impact
Google claims to have disclosed new information proving its own efficiency. But it has hidden the bigger picture. Guess what: I’ve got the bigger picture for you right here in this big old po…
33896417
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
It also ignores that Google’s total power demand has gone up by a massive 50% over the past two years (driven by AI) despite all the reported efficiency gains (a classic Jevons’ paradox).
theverge.com
Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that’s misleading
“This really spreads the wrong message to the world.”
22813
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Google released some new data on the environmental impact Gemini AI prompts, but omitted so many details you can hardly consider it useful. Instead, it does paint an overly rosy picture of the impact concerned.
theverge.com
Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that’s misleading
“This really spreads the wrong message to the world.”
1127
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
It also ignores that Google’s total power demand has gone up by a massive 50% over the past two years (driven by AI) despite all the reported efficiency gains (a classic Jevons’ paradox).
theverge.com
Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that’s misleading
“This really spreads the wrong message to the world.”
22813
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Google released some new data on the environmental impact Gemini AI prompts, but omitted so many details you can hardly consider it useful. Instead, it does paint an overly rosy picture of the impact concerned.
theverge.com
Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that’s misleading
“This really spreads the wrong message to the world.”
1127
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Bitcoin mining has been nothing more than a huge energy waste in past years. Now AI is about to surpass Bitcoin’s power demand. Emerging tech is rapidly driving up the power demand of worldwide digital infrastructure with the inevitable consequence being strained power grids and more fossil fuel use
211676
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Microsoft’s sustainability report that covers 2024 is now available - and it contains some interesting highlights so let’s dive in! blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issue...
blogs.microsoft.com
Our 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report
We reflect on our progress towards our ambitious 2030 goals: to be carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste, while protecting ecosystems. As we enter the second half of the decade, Microsoft re...
111
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
The Verge covering my latest research on the power demand of AI and how this is likely to soon surpass another energy hog in the digital space: Bitcoin mining. www.theverge.com/climate-chan...
theverge.com
AI could consume more power than Bitcoin by the end of 2025
“It shouldn’t be this ridiculously hard” to track AI’s energy consumption.
02513
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
At the same time, there’s not even a breakdown of scope 3 emissions per region - so it’s not remotely possible to see what is going on here.
000
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
“We are working with governments, suppliers, peers, industry associations, and others [] to improve carbon-free electricity access in markets where we have a significant supply chain footprint, most notably in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, where the majority of Microsoft's semiconductors are sourced.”
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
The key regions for AI chip manufacturing (Taiwan, Korea and Japan) are highlighted as a challenge (as these regions heavily rely on fossil fuels):
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Another thing that is not clear from the report is how AI semiconductor manufacturing is impacting the report. Microsoft only writes: “At Microsoft, 97% of our emissions are in the Scope 3 category, with the majority of these emissions within our supply chain.”
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
“As a sector, building materials such as steel and cement are currently some of the highest contributors globally to the carbon cost of new construction, together producing an estimated 13.5% of global carbon emissions.”
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
It’s also worth noting that building out all this new (AI) data center infratructure also has a significant impact:
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
“However, the power system presents a bottleneck, including limits to grid availability to physically connect new carbon-free electricity generation sources, limits to grid capacity to transport carbon-free power (particularly from intermittent renewable energy sources)”
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Moreover, the report also contains are rare acknowledgement that it’s challenging to meet new power demand with carbon-free energy sources in what is titled “the AI challenge:”
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Especially considering the claim that power is being saved elsewhere, AI is likely having a significant impact on these numbers.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Again, there is no granular data on what part relates to AI, but Microsoft does acknowledge AI is driving up power demand: “Despite increased demands from Al workloads over the past year, Microsoft has doubled our rate of power savings, scaling this approach across our datacenters.”
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Related scope 2 emissions are also up up from 8.1 mtCO2 to 10 mtCO2 (a 23% increase) following the location-based approach.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Microsoft’s electricity consumption is rising rapidly, up from 23.6 TWh to 29.8 TWh (a 26% increase). This means that Microsoft now has an electricity consumption equivalent to a country such as Ireland (31.5 TWh).
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
However, let’s start with what the report does not provide. Despite well over 100 references to “AI” the report does not provide much useful insights in how AI specifically impacts Microsoft’s sustainability report.
100
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Microsoft’s sustainability report that covers 2024 is now available - and it contains some interesting highlights so let’s dive in! blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issue...
blogs.microsoft.com
Our 2025 Environmental Sustainability Report
We reflect on our progress towards our ambitious 2030 goals: to be carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste, while protecting ecosystems. As we enter the second half of the decade, Microsoft re...
111
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
The Verge covering my latest research on the power demand of AI and how this is likely to soon surpass another energy hog in the digital space: Bitcoin mining. www.theverge.com/climate-chan...
theverge.com
AI could consume more power than Bitcoin by the end of 2025
“It shouldn’t be this ridiculously hard” to track AI’s energy consumption.
02513
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
AI power demand is rising rapidly while boosting carbon emissions, but of course we’re being told not to worry about it because “some other AI will magically solve all climate challenges soon™️.” Emerging tech is in urgent need of a healthy dose of accountability. www.sfexaminer.com/news/technol...
sfexaminer.com
Why ChatGPT is unlikely to solve climate change
Critics say boosters conflating different types of AI.
011
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
“Data centre blitz threatens Labour’s net zero hopes” Tech companies are desperately looking for power as AI is generating a huge new demand. This extra power demand will boost reliance on fossil fuels and threatens to undermine climate goals. Read the full Telegraph article: archive.is/pAQpY
archive.is
063
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
“Data centre blitz threatens Labour’s net zero hopes” Tech companies are desperately looking for power as AI is generating a huge new demand. This extra power demand will boost reliance on fossil fuels and threatens to undermine climate goals. Read the full Telegraph article: archive.is/pAQpY
archive.is
063
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Bitcoin mining has been nothing more than a huge energy waste in past years. Now AI is about to surpass Bitcoin’s power demand. Emerging tech is rapidly driving up the power demand of worldwide digital infrastructure with the inevitable consequence being strained power grids and more fossil fuel use
211676
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming the largest energy hog within worldwide digital infrastructure. By the end of 2025, AI systems could be responsible for half of total data center power demand - up from about 20% per the end of last year. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
AI could account for nearly half of datacentre power usage ‘by end of year’
Analysis comes as energy agency predicts systems will need as much energy by end of decade as Japan uses today
03834
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming the largest energy hog within worldwide digital infrastructure. By the end of 2025, AI systems could be responsible for half of total data center power demand - up from about 20% per the end of last year. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
AI could account for nearly half of datacentre power usage ‘by end of year’
Analysis comes as energy agency predicts systems will need as much energy by end of decade as Japan uses today
03834
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
As a result, if you’re in London and want to send money to New York, environmentally you’d theoretically be better off taking the plane to manually deliver a bag of cash than sending a Bitcoin transaction. 1 BTC txn on avg consumes as much power as a US household over 1.5 months.
175
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
In case you’re wondering when the environmental concerns surrounding Bitcoin started; this discussion already started weeks after BTC launched. Today marks 16 years of inaction by the Bitcoin community in addressing this massive problem.
272
Reposted by Digiconomist
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Stock market crash: AI bubble collapsing on concerns AI is not as wasteful as previously assumed
062
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
For live data on sustainability metrics for the Bitcoin network make sure to check out digiconomist.net/bitcoin-ener... Also make sure to subscribe to the newsletter keep track of how AI is catching up with Bitcoin’s energy consumption. See my past work on this: www.cell.com/joule/fullte...
digiconomist.net
000
Digiconomist @digiconomist.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
If you’re investing in cryptocurrencies in the EU, you’ll soon be confronted with these environmental costs on a regular basis, as the new MiCA regulation for crypto-asset service providers now includes mandatory disclosure on several key indicators discussed above.
120