Abstract algebra, philosophy make AI emit more carbon than high school history, study finds

A study found that carbon emissions from chat-based generative AI can be six times higher when responding to complex prompts, like abstract algebra or philosophy, compared to simpler prompts, such as high school history.

“The environmental impact of questioning trained (large-language models) is strongly determined by their reasoning approach, with explicit reasoning processes significantly driving up energy consumption and carbon emissions,” first author Maximilian Dauner, a researcher at Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences, Germany, said.