Extensions

These activities are optional. Pick the ones that interest you. Each one asks you to read and then write a short reflection.

Extension A: AI and the environment (20 minutes)

Read one or two of these articles, then answer the questions below.

• The Uneven Distribution of AI's Environmental Impacts (Harvard Business Review)

"The training process for a single AI model, such as a large language model, can consume thousands of megawatt hours of electricity and emit hundreds of tons of carbon. This is roughly equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of hundreds of households in America."

• Silicon Valley and the Environmental Costs of AI (Political Economy Research Centre)

"Data centres and servers need large amounts of water to cool down. According to a study published in Nature in 2021, Google and Microsoft declared using respectively 15.8 billion and 3.6 billion litres of water."

• Generative AI's environmental costs are soaring and mostly secret (Nature)

"It's estimated that a search driven by generative AI uses four to five times the energy of a conventional web search."

• DataBack Vol 2: Truth Before "Indigenous AI" (Animikii Inc.)

"Multi-purpose models consume orders of magnitude more energy than task-specific models. The more we use Generative AI, the worse the impact is on the environment."

Extension B: Responsible AI reports (20 minutes)

Ethical companies are transparent about their environmental impact and their efforts to reduce it. Pick one company and read what it says about responsible AI.

• Microsoft Responsible AI
• Amazon Responsible AI
• Google 2024 Responsible AI report (PDF)

Extension C: AI in the real world (15 minutes)

Choose one article about AI being used for a real job.

• Engineers bring sign language to life using AI
• How generative AI is helping drive vehicle autonomy
• Predicting flight delays: how airlines are harnessing AI
• Recycling gets smarter: AI robots are sorting waste in Seattle
• Using the power of AI to identify and track species
• Artificial Intelligence, meet Indigenous fishing technology
• BCIT researcher using drones and AI in the battle against wildfire