Impacto medioambiental de la inteligencia artificial: un debate pendiente
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3145/infonomy.26.001Palabras clave:
Inteligencia artificial generativa, Impacto medioambiental, Green AI, Sostenibilidad, Consumo energético, Consumo de agua, Emisiones de CO2e, Ciencias de la Comunicación, Educomunicación, Transición ecosocial, Políticas globalesResumen
La llegada de la inteligencia artificial generativa ha despertado importantes debates dentro de todos los ámbitos sociales incluyendo el de la comunicación y el de la educación mediática. Esta investigación busca adentrarse en uno de sus efectos menos conocidos: su impacto eco-social sobre el medioambiente. Para ello se ha realizado una revisión documental de las investigaciones que buscan conocer esta realidad, analizando más de 40 publicaciones al respecto. Los estudios encontrados se focalizan especialmente en el consumo energético con sus consecuentes emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, así como en el consumo de agua. No se atienden, sin embargo, otras fases de su ciclo de vida como la extracción de materias primas o la manufactura de los equipamientos en los que se sostiene la inteligencia artificial. Encontramos una carencia de estudios que tengan una visión global del impacto de todo el ciclo de vida de la inteligencia artificial. Los resultados estarían mostrando un alto impacto de la inteligencia artificial generativa sobre el medioambiente, con peores repercusiones en los países del Sur Global a pesar de no ser sus principales beneficiarios. Los investigadores coinciden en la necesidad de apostar por una “Green AI” frente a la mayoritaria tendencia actual de la “Red AI”, que prima el rendimiento sin tener en cuenta su sostenibilidad. Esta realidad debiera ser tenida en cuenta para actualizar las propuestas de educación mediática que buscan un uso más crítico y sostenible de las herramientas digitales así como para formular propuestas de políticas globales que minimicen tales impactos.Citas
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