Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Advocates for AI Development Over Climate Goals

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Says 'We Are Never Going To Meet Our Climate Goals' - Pushes For AI And Data Centers To Solve The Crisis

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks we won't be able to meet our climate goals. At a recent AI+Energy Summit, Schmidt said he doesn't believe we are organized enough to achieve big targets, like the U.S. reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Instead, he thinks we should invest more in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, which he says could help solve the energy problem - but only if we are willing to make some trade-offs. Don't Miss: A billion-dollar investment strategy with minimums as low as $10 -- you can become part of the next big real estate boom today. This Adobe-backed AI marketing startup went from a $5 to $85 million valuation working with brands like L'Oréal, Hasbro, and Sweetgreen in just three years - here's how there's an opportunity to invest at $1,000 for only $0.50/share today. AI's Rising Energy Demand AI is growing quickly, resulting in a huge energy demand. According to Schmidt, data centers - the facilities that power AI - will need much more electricity in the coming years. These centers need a steady power supply and as AI systems get more advanced, the need for energy will keep increasing. Schmidt said that if we don't improve our energy infrastructure, the U.S. might run out of enough power for these demands within the next four years. Schmidt admits that these energy-hungry AI systems could make it even harder to meet climate goals. But instead of slowing down AI growth to save energy, he thinks investing in AI could be the key to solving some of our biggest environmental challenges. Trending: The global games market is projected to generate $272B by the end of the year -- for $0.55/share, this VC-backed startup with a 7M+ userbase gives investors easy access to this asset market. Betting on AI Instead of Conservation At the AI summit, Schmidt said bluntly: "We're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it." He explained that while there are ways to make data centers more efficient, like using better batteries and reducing power losses, those measures won't be enough to keep up with AI's fast growth. Instead of scaling back, he believes we should push AI development to find solutions that traditional methods can't provide. Nevertheless, he says, "Because it's a universal technology and because it's the arrival of an alien intelligence, something we don't understand, we may make mistakes concerning how it's used. But I can assure you that we're not going to get there through conservation." Trending: 'Scrolling to UBI': Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones - invest today with $1,000 for just $0.25/share Nuclear Power and Rapid Infrastructure Development Schmidt has also called for more nuclear power to support AI's energy needs. He criticized decisions to shut down working nuclear plants in places like Germany and California, saying nuclear energy is important for providing the stable, constant power that AI needs. Renewables like solar and wind are helpful, but Schmidt said their unreliability means they can't handle the basic power needs required for AI growth alone. He also pointed out that the current rules and regulations make it hard to build new energy infrastructure fast enough. Schmidt said the long approval process for new power lines and nuclear plants in the U.S., which can take more than ten years, is a major problem. Trending: Beating the market through ethical real estate investing' -- this platform aims to give tenants equity in the homes they live in while scoring 17.17% average annual returns for investors - here's how to join with just $100 Other Controversial Stances Schmidt is known for making controversial statements. During a recent talk at Stanford University, he suggested that if TikTok were banned in the U.S., students should use AI to create a copy of the app, even recommending that they "steal users and music" and hire lawyers if it became successful. He also criticized Google's focus on work-life balance and remote work, saying it disadvantaged the company compared to more competitive AI startups like OpenAI. Read Next: Groundbreaking trading app with a 'Buy-Now-Pay-Later' feature for stocks tackles the $644 billion margin lending market - here's how to get equity in it with just $500 Unlock a $400 billion opportunity by investing in the future of EV infrastructure on this startup already valued at $50 million with just $500. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Eric Schmidt: Build more AI DCs, climate goals not in reach

Perhaps the power-draining tech is the solution after all, posits former Google CEO Google's former chief Eric Schmidt thinks we shouldn't let AI's ballooning power consumption worry us, because putting AI to work on climate change issues will be our best shot at solving them. Schmidt was speaking at a recent AI summit in Washington DC, and his comments echo those of Microsoft founder Bill Gates who expressed very similar sentiments at an event in London earlier this year. What is it about AI that makes billionaire businessmen believe that pursuing its development trumps all efforts to control climate change, we wonder? According to reports, the former Google CEO said that any moves to curtail the expanding amounts of energy consumed in developing and training ever more advanced AI models are futile, and should be simply abandoned in favor of a no-holds-barred approach to investment in the technology. "All of that will be swamped by the enormous needs of this new technology," he said, adding that "we may make mistakes with respect to how it's used, but I can assure you that we're not going to get there through conservation." Schmidt further stated that he believes that "we're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it," and that he would rather bet on AI solving the problems than constraining the development of the tech and still having the problems anyway. This rather optimistic view of the Earth-saving potential of AI can perhaps be explained by the fact that Schmidt has his own investments in the technology. According to Business Insider, he is the founder of White Stork, a defense company that develops AI-powered drones. However, a recent report from investment outfit Goldman Sachs estimated that despite approximately $1 trillion of capital expenditure commitments by businesses to develop and deploy AI, there has been little to show for it so far. And another recent prediction from analyst firm Gartner indicated that at least 30 percent of GenAI projects are set to be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025. Despite this, investors continue to throw cash at the infrastructure which AI needs. Just last month, financial services biz Morgan Stanley estimated that the datacenter industry is set to emit 2.5 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide between now and the end of the decade, three times more than if generative AI had not been developed. Another recent report from IDC indicated that demand for AI workloads will lead to a significant increase in datacenter capacity, energy consumption, and carbon emissions - a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.5 percent through 2027, causing energy consumption to grow by 44.7 percent over the same period. Yet Schmidt seems to believe this is either nothing to worry about, or that climate change is going to happen anyway so we might as well reap the benefits of AI. Well, those with the money to invest will, anyway. He is not alone, as the example of Bill Gates shows. Speaking at an event in London hosted by his Breakthrough Energy venture fund in June, the billionaire said the growing power demands of AI were nothing to worry about, as AI would enable everyone to use less energy by making technology and electricity grids more efficient. This touching faith in the power of AI to solve all our problems might have something to do with predictions such as those from McKinsey earlier this year that estimated gen AI could add anything between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion to the global economy annually. And who wants to put the brakes on when there is money to be made like that? Certainly not Gates or Schmidt. ®

Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Abandon Climate Targets - Let AI Solve the Problem

Big Tech is racing to make its AI development more climate-efficient. Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, has called for an end to lofty climate goals as he believes AI will outpace any measures put in place anyway. The comments come as the rapid rise of AI has forced widespread investment in power-hungry data centers, raising significant concerns about their adverse effects on the climate. Schmidt Suggests Abandoning Climate Targets At a Washington AI summit last week, Schmidt said that AI growth will likely overtake preventative climate measures such as more efficient batteries and greener data centers. "All of that will be swamped by the enormous needs of this new technology," Schmidt said. "Because it's a universal technology, and because it's the arrival of an alien intelligence... we may make mistakes with respect to how it's used, but I can assure you that we're not going to get there through conservation," he added. Schmidt told the summit that countries and companies will not meet their climate goals "because we're not organized to do it." "Yes, the needs in this area will be a problem, but I'd rather bet on AI solving the problem than constraining it and having the problem," Schmidt said. Threat of AI AI technologies, especially those that require large-scale data processing and deep learning, demand significant computational power, which data centers often supply. These facilities consume vast amounts of electricity to power servers, keep hardware cool, and maintain round-the-clock operations. Many data centers rely on energy derived from fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbating climate change. In May 2024, the Electric Power Research Institute found that data centers could use up to 9% of the total electricity generated in the US by 2030. The Institute said the annual rate of AI electricity usage could range from 3.7% to 15% through 2030, depending on the efficiency of newly built data centers. This is backed up by a McKinsey report , which said that data centers are expected to consume 35 gigawatts of power annually by 2030, an increase from 17 gigawatts the previous year. BigTech's Answer? Despite Schmidt's comments, Big Tech has ambitious goals to become greener alongside its rapid development of AI. The ambitions are backed by government-enforced goals to become net zero. The U.S. government has set a target for the economy to be completely net zero by 2050, with the power sector becoming carbon-neutral by 2035. Big Tech is investing heavily in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power to offset the energy consumption of their data centers. In August 2024, Meta signed a deal to buy geothermal power from Sage Geosystems to power its U.S. data centers. Meta confirmed it would purchase 150 megawatts of geothermal power from Sage Geosystems, roughly enough electricity to power 38,000 homes. OpenAI's Sam Altman previously said an energy breakthrough would be needed to sustain the projected rate of AI development into the future. Altman, a long-time advocate for greener AI, previously invested in renewable energy startup Exowatt. The company aims to provide cheap electricity and thermal power for data centers.

Former Google CEO says AI will solve the climate issue, 'we're not organized to do it'

"We're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it." That's former Google CEO Eric Schmidt responding to a question about the rise in energy consumption due to the AI boom at SCSP's inaugural AI+Energy Summit. AI is putting a strain on energy grids everywhere due to the sheer amounts of power required to run complex generative AI systems, so it's a definite issue. Eric Schmidt's response is somewhat cynical but indicative of the debate surrounding how governments, corporations, and people everywhere should be dealing with climate change and its potentially devastating impacts. His response wasn't simply a shoulder shrug, as Schmidt confirmed that energy concerns surrounding AI "will be a problem." However, if humans cannot tackle the issue meaningfully or 'solve the climate problem,' then you can probably guess who or what might. Yep, AI. "Yes, the needs in this area will be a problem," Eric Schmidt added. "But I'd rather bet on AI solving the problem than constraining it." This is a roundabout way of saying that the energy and climate crisis will only increase as more and more are invested in AI. However, this presents a unique opportunity for AI to be harnessed in a way that can ultimately benefit humanity. This probably means that he's in favor of dropping climate goals and targets for companies like Google that are heavily invested in AI and having them adopt a 'fight fire with fire' approach that goes all in on AI with the expectation that it can be harnessed to come up with a solution that worlds for everyone. Also, with the economics of rising power bills and energy costs, it makes sense to make energy consumption at every level more efficient and cost-effective. "The economics will drive it anyway," Schmidt concluded. "No large company wants to have a huge power bill. Most people I've talked with say [the] power bill is becoming a very large component of their expenses." Or, take the Microsoft route and go nuclear. You can watch the full fireside chat with Dr. Eric Schmidt below.

Former Google CEO says climate goals are not meetable, so we might as well drop climate conservation -- unshackle AI companies so AI can solve global warming

"We're not going to hit the climate goals anyway..." says former Google chief Eric Schmidt. When asked about how AI can reduce humanity's existing and future energy demands, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said during the Special Competitive Studies Project AI+Energy Summit that the demand for AI computing (this is its power requirement) is infinite and that the key point is "we're not going to get there through conservation." The host then followed up with, "Do you think we can meet AI's energy without total blowing out climate goals?" and Schmidt answered with, "We're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it -- and the way to do it is with the ways that we're talking about now -- and yes, the needs in this area will be a problem. But I'd rather bet on AI solving the problem than constraining it and having the problem if you see my plan." It seems that the former Google chief favors dropping climate goals to ensure that AI companies will have enough power to drive their AI ambitions. Incidentally, this is happening now at Google, as its greenhouse gas emissions have jumped by 48% since 2019, primarily driven by its data center energy demands. Nevertheless, Schmidt recognizes our climate problem but believes that we shouldn't let targets shackle AI development as we could use it to solve that problem. Besides, he says that we will not be able to meet the targets we've set anyway. The host then closed the interview by asking Schmidt about his top three action steps that the industry needs to take now, and he said, "More power that is predictable, that is base load or base load-equivalent, as soon as they can. They [AI companies] need more places to site, they need more ways of getting things built, and they need more things to get them connected." In return, Schmidt promises that these AI companies will make energy generation systems at least 15% more efficient or maybe even better, telling the audience that "that's a lot of money for a utility." While we're achieving many gains in our clean energy and energy efficiency goals, it sounds reckless to abandon our greenhouse gas emissions targets to push AI development to its peak. After all, English economist William Jevons observed in 1865 that steam engine improvements, which made coal use more efficient, did not reduce fuel use. Instead, these advancements, which made steam engines cheaper to operate, increased demand for coal even more. This occurrence, called Jevon's Paradox, could still happen today with energy consumption and AI. If AI could make energy production at least 15% more efficient, demand could increase as energy prices drop. Even Schmidt said it himself, "The economics will drive it anyway. No large company wants to have a huge power bill." He adds, "Most of the people I've talked with say [the] power bill is becoming a very large component of their expenses." Furthermore, are we sure we should rest our future on AI decisions? Hollywood has shown us many times how leaving the fate of humanity in the hands of AI (or even another form of intelligence) might not be a good idea.

Google's former CEO: AI advances more important than climate conservation

Tech execs may be capitulating to the energy demands of AI. Credit: Contributor / The Washington Post via Getty Images AI is demanding more and more energy for its immense processing needs, and while many of it's leaders are addressing the climate concerns, others are letting artificial intelligence lead the way. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt is among the latter, for one. Appearing at a recent Washington AI summit, Schmidt argued that current climate goals should be abandoned in favor of a no-bars-held approach to AI investment. "All of that will be swamped by the enormous needs of this new technology," said Schmidt, referring to recent efforts to make AI more environmentally friendly. "We may make mistakes with respect to how it's used, but I can assure you that we're not going to get there through conservation." Schmidt has his own AI investments, including the defense company White Stork, which is testing a new legion of AI-powered military drones. "We're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it," Schmidt continued. "I'd rather bet on AI solving the problem, than constraining it and having the problem." The former executive served as the company's lead from 2001 to 2011, during which time the company became "carbon neutral" for the first time. Since then, the tech giant has invested even more in its image as a climate-conscious company, eliminating its carbon legacy and planning to invest in the clean energy economy. But Google has admitted its own climate goals (including net zero emissions by the year 2030) are farther off than they would like. The company's 2024 sustainability report showed a 48 percent increase in total greenhouse gas emissions between 2019 and 2023, with the majority tied to larger processing demands beginning in 2022. Last month, a report from the Guardian revealed that Big Tech's emission stats are still likely off the mark, with true emission numbers obfuscated by what the industry refers to as "market-based" figures achieved by clever renewable energy certificate accounting. In the adjusted report, Amazon was an exponentially worse offender than any other company, with more than double the amount of emissions than the next player on the list. Google and Microsoft (which also saw a rise in emissions since 2020) stood out among the offenders for pledging to phase out the opaque system from its reporting process. As many AI executives, like OpenAI's Sam Altman, race toward sustainable energy options for AI, others are doubling back to fossil fuels to meet the present demand. Meanwhile some, including several of tech's biggest names and Microsoft itself, are exploring the potential of nuclear energy to match both the speed of AI investment and its demands on the energy grid.

Former Google CEO on AI data centers' environmental impact: "We're not going to hit the climate goals anyway"

A hot potato: There's a lot of concern over the environmental impact stemming from AI's energy requirements. The generative AI revolution has seen more companies pour resources into data centers, which are consuming gigawatts of power. But former Google CEO Eric Schmidt doesn't believe we need to slow down building these facilities as "we're not going to hit the climate goals anyway." The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that power consumption for AI data centers in 2024 will be 10 times higher than it was in 2022. With a single ChatGPT request estimated to consume almost 10 times more power than a Google search, Arm CEO Rene Haas warned earlier this year that AI data centers could require as much as 20 to 25 percent of the entire US power grid by 2030. McKinsey estimates that data centers are expected to consume 35 gigawatts of power annually by the end of the decade, and that's having an impact on the environment. Four years ago, Microsoft said that it would bring its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2030, but those emissions are actually increasing, something that President Brad Smith says is due to the AI explosion. Speaking at an AI summit in Washington last week (via Business Insider), Schmidt said there were ways to mitigate the negative effects AI could have on the environment, such as using better batteries and power lines to build data centers. But this ultimately won't be enough. "All of that will be swamped by the enormous needs of this new technology," Schmidt said. "Because it's a universal technology, and because it's the arrival of an alien intelligence [...] we may make mistakes with respect to how it's used, but I can assure you that we're not going to get there through conservation." Schmidt was asked whether it would be possible to meet the growing energy demands of AI without missing conservation targets. He said "we're not going to hit the climate goals anyway because we're not organized to do it." Schmidt did have some more optimistic predictions for the crowd: "Yes, the needs in this area will be a problem, but I'd rather bet on AI solving the problem than constraining it and having the problem." Schmidt, who served as Google CEO from 2001 to 2011 and was executive chairman until 2015, is no stranger to controversial remarks. In August, he said Google is being left behind in the AI race by the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic due to his former company's work-from-home policy. "Google decided that work-life balance and going home early, and working from home, was more important than winning," Schmidt said at the time. "And the startups, the reason startups work is the people work like hell," he said. He also lamented Google allowing employees to come into work just one day per week, even though Googlers have to be in the office at least three days a week.