Environmental sustainability and technology: differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers
Citizens are increasingly aware of environmental sustainability issues. Find out how technologies can help to create a better future!
Environmental sustainability and technology: differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers
Citizens are increasingly aware of environmental sustainability issues. Find out how technologies can help to create a better future!
Aware citizens: the new players in sustainable change
Regarding sustainability, we often focus only on the negative impact of our actions on the environment. Do we really only act in a harmful way?
The reality is quite different. According to Deloitte’s “The Conscious Citizen” observatory, we are increasingly adopting greener consumption patterns and lifestyles.
An example?
Today, many of us prefer to buy local and organic products, thus reducing the use of single-use plastic. The same is true for means of transportation, where we favor car sharing, and low-carbon means, such as bicycles and public transportation.
These actions represent an attempt to create sustainable ecosystems, which harmonize natural resources with our activities, reducing environmental impact. With this in mind, smart cities emerge as a role model for sustainable and resilient urban development. They adopt technological innovation, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to optimize the management of resources and services, improve citizens’ quality of life and pursue environmental and social sustainability goals.
Technologies and environmental sustainability will be part of our future
Technological tools, particularly AI, can guide us toward a greener future. How can they do so? Let’s look at it together!
Smart technologies, through continuous data analysis, can contribute significantly to the sustainability of a city in several ways:
- detecting buildings and homes’ energy consumption and suggesting actions to optimize it;
- improving waste management by analyzing data on its production and optimizing its collection and disposal;
- improving urban traffic flow by automatically regulating traffic and planning optimal routes;
However, one of the issues that has been causing the most discussion lately concerns precisely the sustainability of technological tools. We are talking about the well-known digital sustainability. This concept defines the ways in which digital technology will have to develop while respecting its nature. It will also have to act as a tool to support the environment, the economy and society.
As we know, Artificial Intelligence if not properly deployed can have a negative impact on the environment. In fact, the technology industry has to rely on significant amounts of energy to ensure the operation of its IT structure.
Did you know that 700,000 liters of fresh water and 2.8 million liters due to the use of electricity were consumed to train the ChatGPT language model? These are the findings of the recent study “Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models.”[1]
So, even if AI is used to address environmental challenges, they themselves can be harmful to the environment. And this is precisely why we can distinguish between:
- Artificial Intelligence Sustainability, which explores how to use artificial intelligence to achieve sustainability goals;
- AI for sustainability, which evaluates the environmental impact of the use of this technology. [2]
To properly assess the role that AI can play for the environment, we must therefore take into account these two subsets. This is necessary to assess the impact of the technology and design effective solutions for a sustainable transition.
Technology and sustainability, two generations compared
To investigate this emerging theme, the results of the questionnaire carried out between June and July 2023 were analysed. Let’s observe the results together!
28.8% of people think that there are environmental risks associated with the use of Artificial Intelligence. Going more specifically, we can observe that the greatest concerns concern the pollution caused by electronic devices (30.6%) and their consequent disposal (25.2%).
Among these, it is above all the millennial generation (40%), which includes those born between 1980 and 1996, that is most concerned about the impact it could have on the environment. Instead the Baby Boomers generation (1946-1964) seems to be the least worried (50%).
These responses confirm the existence of a generational interest in environmental issues. It is clear that younger generations are more aware and informed than older ones, who instead tend to ignore the existence of a correlation between the use of AI and environmental pollution.
This data could be justified by various elements that trace a profound difference between the two generations.
Millennials are actually the first generation to have begun to directly experience the effects of climate change, such as the increase in global temperature. They have therefore lived through an era in which sustainability has progressively become a main theme in government and corporate policies. A clear example, are the many initiatives implemented by activists around the world. At the same times, all of this has contributed to strengthening social and political commitment in defense of the environment.
Instead the baby boomer generation has lived in a different socio-cultural context, in which environmental awareness was not as widespread and discussed as it is today. Furthermore, the absence of the Internet and digital media has severely limited access to information on environmental issues, effectively making them less exposed.
Nonetheless, through education and correct information on these issues it is possible to promote greater awareness for all generations, regardless of their cultural background and to adopt eco-friendly behaviours.
The future of environmental sustainability requires a collective commitment to ensure that artificial intelligence not only becomes a useful tool for making cities greener, but also becomes sustainable in its development and design.
Each of us plays an important role in this challenge. We must be aware of our technological choices and promote practices that respect the environment and society. Only through shared commitment can we ensure that AI truly serves sustainability and preserves our planet for future generations. We are an integral part of this change.
References:
-
-
- Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models. Online version: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271
- Sustainable AI: AI for sustainability and the sustainability of AI. Online version: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-021-00043-6
-
© Copyright 2012 – 2024 | All Rights Reserved
Author: Eleonora Lavoratore, Graduate of Sapienza University
Aware citizens: the new players in sustainable change
Regarding sustainability, we often focus only on the negative impact of our actions on the environment. Do we really only act in a harmful way?
The reality is quite different. According to Deloitte’s “The Conscious Citizen” observatory, we are increasingly adopting greener consumption patterns and lifestyles.
An example?
Today, many of us prefer to buy local and organic products, thus reducing the use of single-use plastic. The same is true for means of transportation, where we favor car sharing, and low-carbon means, such as bicycles and public transportation.
These actions represent an attempt to create sustainable ecosystems, which harmonize natural resources with our activities, reducing environmental impact. With this in mind, smart cities emerge as a role model for sustainable and resilient urban development. They adopt technological innovation, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to optimize the management of resources and services, improve citizens’ quality of life and pursue environmental and social sustainability goals.
Technologies and environmental sustainability will be part of our future
Technological tools, particularly AI, can guide us toward a greener future. How can they do so? Let’s look at it together!
Smart technologies, through continuous data analysis, can contribute significantly to the sustainability of a city in several ways:
- detecting buildings and homes’ energy consumption and suggesting actions to optimize it;
- improving waste management by analyzing data on its production and optimizing its collection and disposal;
- improving urban traffic flow by automatically regulating traffic and planning optimal routes;
However, one of the issues that has been causing the most discussion lately concerns precisely the sustainability of technological tools. We are talking about the well-known digital sustainability. This concept defines the ways in which digital technology will have to develop while respecting its nature. It will also have to act as a tool to support the environment, the economy and society.
As we know, Artificial Intelligence if not properly deployed can have a negative impact on the environment. In fact, the technology industry has to rely on significant amounts of energy to ensure the operation of its IT structure.
Did you know that 700,000 liters of fresh water and 2.8 million liters due to the use of electricity were consumed to train the ChatGPT language model? These are the findings of the recent study “Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models.”[1]
So, even if AI is used to address environmental challenges, they themselves can be harmful to the environment. And this is precisely why we can distinguish between:
- Artificial Intelligence Sustainability, which explores how to use artificial intelligence to achieve sustainability goals;
- AI for sustainability, which evaluates the environmental impact of the use of this technology. [2]
To properly assess the role that AI can play for the environment, we must therefore take into account these two subsets. This is necessary to assess the impact of the technology and design effective solutions for a sustainable transition.
Technology and sustainability, two generations compared
To investigate this emerging theme, the results of the questionnaire carried out between June and July 2023 were analysed. Let’s observe the results together!
28.8% of people think that there are environmental risks associated with the use of Artificial Intelligence. Going more specifically, we can observe that the greatest concerns concern the pollution caused by electronic devices (30.6%) and their consequent disposal (25.2%).
Among these, it is above all the millennial generation (40%), which includes those born between 1980 and 1996, that is most concerned about the impact it could have on the environment. Instead the Baby Boomers generation (1946-1964) seems to be the least worried (50%).
These responses confirm the existence of a generational interest in environmental issues. It is clear that younger generations are more aware and informed than older ones, who instead tend to ignore the existence of a correlation between the use of AI and environmental pollution.
This data could be justified by various elements that trace a profound difference between the two generations.
Millennials are actually the first generation to have begun to directly experience the effects of climate change, such as the increase in global temperature. They have therefore lived through an era in which sustainability has progressively become a main theme in government and corporate policies. A clear example, are the many initiatives implemented by activists around the world. At the same times, all of this has contributed to strengthening social and political commitment in defense of the environment.
Instead the baby boomer generation has lived in a different socio-cultural context, in which environmental awareness was not as widespread and discussed as it is today. Furthermore, the absence of the Internet and digital media has severely limited access to information on environmental issues, effectively making them less exposed.
Nonetheless, through education and correct information on these issues it is possible to promote greater awareness for all generations, regardless of their cultural background and to adopt eco-friendly behaviours.
The future of environmental sustainability requires a collective commitment to ensure that artificial intelligence not only becomes a useful tool for making cities greener, but also becomes sustainable in its development and design.
Each of us plays an important role in this challenge. We must be aware of our technological choices and promote practices that respect the environment and society. Only through shared commitment can we ensure that AI truly serves sustainability and preserves our planet for future generations. We are an integral part of this change.
References:
-
-
- Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models. Online version: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271
- Sustainable AI: AI for sustainability and the sustainability of AI. Online version: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-021-00043-6
-
© Copyright 2012 – 2024 | All Rights Reserved
Author: Eleonora Lavoratore, Graduate of Sapienza University
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