By The Conversation
Publication Date: 2026-06-05 14:00:00
A common argument used to address concerns about the increasing energy and resource demands of data centers is that artificial intelligence (AI) models will require less in the future as they improve and become more efficient.
But this seemingly logical thinking is a trap, says a new United Nations report that quantifies the environmental costs of AI.
The report estimates that AI’s energy consumption could double by 2030, consuming 3% of the world’s electricity, producing UK-sized emissions and using more water for cooling than the annual drinking water needs of the world’s population.
It also assumes that the use of AI will follow an economic principle known as the “Jevons paradox,” which states that technological improvements that increase the efficiency of a resource are more likely to result in an increase, rather than a decrease, in the overall consumption of that resource.
The paradox is named after the economist William Stanley Jevons, who observed this effect in the use of coal in 19th century England….
