Its data centers used to power AI are making the company's path to carbon neutrality a bumpy one.
Google's greenhouse gas emissions spiked by nearly 50 percent in the last five years, due to data centers required to power artificial intelligence, according to the company's 2024 Environmental Report. The report shows the company's progress towards meeting its self-proclaimed objective of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 – despite this additional challenge.
Using AI features (let alone training the models) uses a lot of energy. In 2023, researchers at AI startup Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University found that generating a single image using artificial intelligence can use as much energy as charging a smartphone.
Google has a lot of AI projects on the go. Alongside the likes of Gemini, generative AI tools, it's using the technology to add over 100 languages to its translation services. And there's also the rumored AI chatbots.
According to the report, Google said it expects its total greenhouse gas emissions to rise “before dropping toward our absolute emissions reduction target,” without explaining what would cause this drop.
– Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
Meta is changing its policy for the most-moderated word on its platforms
How Apple redesigned its Photos app around customization
A new Resident Evil game is in the works from the director of Resident Evil 7
You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
Three miles of I-94 will have special sensors and communication equipment.
The Alphabet-backed startup Cavnue has started constructing the smart highway as part of a new pilot project for smart highways. The new smart road is one long tracking system, designed to inform both Michigan's Department of Transportation (MDOT) and drivers about potential issues ahead, It's hoped that the project will help relieve traffic congestion and even prevent accidents. The pilot program of the highway is located between Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan, with future plans to extend the smart highway to 40 miles in six more phases that would connect to both cities.
If the future of drone sale is looking dicey…
With a US ban of its hyper-popular drones increasingly likely, DJI has been diversifying into something very different. Enter the Avinox Drive, an e-bike motor system that will go up against dominant players like Bosch and Shimano. The Avinox system, on paper at least, appears to out-spec some popular systems from those rivals, thanks to the lower weight, extra torque and higher-capacity batteries. DJI however won't be making bikes, so let's see how it fares. The system will first appear with a new bike brand called Amflow, which is launching the new PL model weighing in at 19.2kg (42 pounds) — on the low-end for electric mountain bikes (eMTBs).
Fortunately not a gritty 10-part action drama.
The latest title to join the Netflix Games roster is a modern remake of Minesweeper, ancient timekiller on ‘90s Windows PCs. The classic PC puzzle game has been reimagined with an international setting, tasking the player with very literally looking for underwater mines
