Former U.S. Vice President and environmental activist Al Gore said in an interview with TechCrunch that the combined emissions of data centers for artificial intelligence are not the biggest threat associated with the technology's development, infohub.kz reports.
He estimated that emissions from all AI data centers account for only a small fraction of emissions from unclosed landfills worldwide. Gore also expressed concern about how energy-intensive facilities are powered.
The politician is particularly worried about some tech giants installing new methane turbines, since building gas-fired power plants could lock in fossil fuel use for decades to come.
Gore also linked public protests against data center construction in the U.S. to fears of job losses from automation.
The former vice president said his main concern is not the environmental footprint but the risks that AI developers themselves warn about. He urged taking seriously statements from the leadership of Anthropic and OpenAI, which mention cases of improper model behavior and security threats.
At the same time, Gore cited research from the London School of Economics showing that using AI to improve efficiency in energy and logistics could cut global emissions by 6–9% per year.