Sleepless Nights, Storms, and AI: Climate and Education

Sleepless nights have become a common experience for many, as we face increasing storm frequencies and intensities. Here in Spain, the remnants of Hurricane Kirk recently made their presence known. The winds and rains from Kirk have hit hard across the country this Wednesday and Thursday. The storms travelled from Galicia to Barcelona, and brought heavy rains, thunderstorms, and hurricane-force winds exceeding 200 km/h, causing disruptions in several areas.

While I was fortunate to only lose a few items from my outdoor space, the sound of relentless winds, the neighbor's breaking windows, and crashing waves meant little rest. The ocean itself churned violently, and nearly half of the sand that had been painstakingly restored to our beaches last winter was swept back into the sea. We have a need for more robust coastal engineering solutions - artificial rock reefs, increased tree coverage, and native sand grasses, which could help mitigate future damage.

Across the Atlantic, the United States braces for more severe hurricanes. Many of us with loved ones in affected zones remain awake, alert, and concerned today, as Milton makes it way across the state. I have plenty of personal experience of the aftermath these storms bring: the grief of seeing homes flooded, businesses destroyed, and entire communities left struggling for basic resources. From the chaotic scenes of people fighting for essentials, to the toxic stew left behind by floodwaters, these events are brutal reminders of our human vulnerabilities in the face of natural disasters.

Climate change plays a role in intensifying hurricanes. Warmer sea temperatures, like those in the Gulf of Mexico where Hurricane Milton just passed, provide more energy for storms, leading to stronger winds. Additionally, a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, resulting in heavier rainfall. Rising sea levels, which have increased by over 7 inches in Florida since 1970, make coastal flooding more likely during storm surges. While a full analysis is needed, Milton's rapid intensification aligns with patterns expected in a warming world.

While the role of AI in understanding and mitigating climate change has been widely discussed, we must confront a sobering truth: AI is not a magical solution to this climate crisis. AI can indeed help us track environmental changes, predict species migration, optimize farming techniques, and enhance disaster preparedness. Yet, it comes with its own substantial environmental cost. From the vast amounts of energy required to power AI systems to the massive amount of water, and rare minerals needed for the hardware, AI itself is a significant consumer of resources. We are, as of now, without truly viable alternatives that balance innovation with sustainability.

This reality forces us to think critically about the future of education. We need to integrate sustainability into our curricula, not just as an add-on but as a core component of learning and AI literary. Teaching children about climate change and AI’s role in both solving and contributing to these problems is essential if we are to foster a critical thinking generation that can temper their use of technology, and tackle these issues with urgency and innovation.

Artificial intelligence holds immense potential to assist in understanding complex environmental patterns, but we must not ignore the broader consequences of its use. The extraction of minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel - critical for AI infrastructure - causes significant environmental and social harm. The humans who mine these mineral face harsh working environments, and we have good reason the believe that many are used as slave labor. Report on modern slavery . Further, AI development is energy-intensive, and the water usage in cooling data centers is staggering, often outpacing what renewable energy can supply. More from this Hugging Face Report .

To address these challenges, it is not enough to rely on AI-driven technological advances. We must also shift our educational focus. Schools should play a pivotal role in preparing students to navigate this reality, instilling in them the principles of sustainable living. This means embracing innovative learning tools while teaching the importance of resource conservation. Students today must understand not only how AI works but also the environmental costs associated with it. More from Emirates Scholar Article

In the past year, I’ve made efforts to reduce my own carbon footprint by subscribing to planting trees to offset my travel, recycling effectively, and minimizing waste where possible. I try to up-cycle when I can. I also use my technology, including phones and laptops, until they are no longer compatible with updates. In fact, I’m writing this article on nothing less than a dinosaur Macbook from 2019. While these are small actions, I believe they reflect the broader changes we all need to embrace. Sustainability is about long-term commitment, not just immediate fixes.

Sweden has embedded sustainability into its national consciousness; and, as a result, into mine. Though I sometimes have found it overwhelming, it's a model worth following. This may be why, during last night's bout of sleeplessness, I found myself debating my role, and social responsibility, in using and promoting AI.

I’ve begun the work considering how I can be a climate-conscious user of this technology, leveraging it to improve my work flow, yet ensuring that both my work and personal use of AI align with my environmental values. I do not yet have a solution or practice in place.

As we look ahead, I urge us to think about how we can do better. Whether through personal choices or through educating the next generation, the stakes have never been higher. Sleepless, stormy nights may remind us of the challenges, but they also push us toward the solutions we need. Perhaps it’s in these restless hours that the most important ideas for change will take root.

Stay safe out there!