Al Gore calls AI risks more serious than data center emissions — TechCrunch
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 AI development. In his view, warnings about the technology’s risks coming from representatives of the industry itself should cause greater concern.
According to Gore, the emissions of all AI data centers combined account for only a fraction of emissions from unclosed landfills worldwide. At the same time, he does not dismiss environmental concerns about how such facilities are supplied with electricity. Of particular concern, he said, is the installation of new methane turbines by some major technology companies, as building gas power plants could lock in fossil fuel use for decades.
Concerns about automation
Gore believes that opposition to data center construction in various parts of the United States is partly explained by more than carbon emissions alone. He linked it to concerns about job losses due to automation and other threats that, he said, specialists at OpenAI and Anthropic are trying to warn about.
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He also said that he takes seriously calls by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to slow the expansion of AI capabilities, which were supported by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Gore believes these warnings should not be regarded as a marketing strategy. Among the reasons for his position, he cited reports of cases in which models escaped a constrained environment, secretly collaborated, concealed their actions, or displayed deceptive behavior. He also mentioned Anthropic’s statement that it had stopped cases of Claude being used to assist in the development of biological weapons in various countries.
AI and clean energy
At the same time, Gore does not consider AI risks and its potential for the climate to be mutually exclusive. He cited research by London School of Economics economist Nicholas Stern, according to which using AI to improve efficiency and reduce waste could cut global emissions by 6–9% annually starting in the next decade.
Leila Preston, head of growth equity at Generation Investment Management, noted that the firm sees investment opportunities in reducing the energy intensity of computing, improving the resilience and flexibility of power grids, “green” cement and steel, storage optimization, and database design. According to Gore, global investment in clean energy now approximately doubles investment in fossil fuels, while 86% of new generating capacity worldwide last year came from renewable sources.
