A bicameral group of lawmakers has introduced new legislation to create a framework for measuring the environmental impact of artificial intelligence’s energy consumption, pollution and e-waste.
Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Don Beyer, D-Va., introduced the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 to facilitate interagency collaboration on addressing the environmental risks posed by the rapid growth of AI technologies.
The bill mandates the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop standards to measure and report AI’s environmental impacts and create a voluntary reporting framework for developers to disclose the ecological impacts of their products and services.
If enacted, the legislation would also require an interagency study on AI’s environmental impact and convene an AI Environmental Impacts Consortium.
“The resources necessary to research and develop AI are intensive, and as AI systems grow in scale and become more widely used across various sectors of society, it’s critical to understand the environmental impacts of AI development and use,” Eshoo said.
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