Jensen Huang says AI may require years of fossil fuel use

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argued that artificial intelligence could help fight climate change, but said its development may involve significant hardship. In an interview on The Ezra Klein Show, he compared AI’s potential benefits to surgery that first causes “an enormous amount of pain and suffering.”

Huang said the US had not built enough fossil fuel plants and that, “over the next several years,” fossil fuels would be needed because there was not enough sustainable energy. He said he hoped to transition to sustainable energy afterward. The article characterizes his comments as an argument for accepting environmental harm in pursuit of AI growth.

The article cites climate risks associated with delayed emissions cuts: the 2015 Paris agreement aims to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero around 2050; Earth is expected to lose 99 percent of its coral reefs; and 770 million people face acute risk from sea level rise. It also reports that peak daily wildfire growth rates in the western US have more than doubled since 2001.

Huang discussed opposition to data centers, saying companies should explain projects to local residents before construction and accept communities’ decisions if they do not want facilities built. The article notes that data centers can be less polluting, and disputes Huang’s attribution of record renewable energy purchases to AI.