AI will be an accelerator of trends, but its environmental impact is worrying

Jorge Taboada, TikTok’s director of operations for Latin America, exemplifies that on the short video platform this technology has served to create new content moderation tools, search technology and even labels to detect content made with AI.

However, this is not the only sector where it will impact, as it will also transform the labor field. According to data from McKinsey, investment in generative AI grew 7 times in 2023, and is expected to continue increasing in the next decade. So by 2035, this technology will be responsible for a large percentage of creative production in various industries, such as entertainment and marketing.

On the other hand, a study by the IBM Institute for Business Value affirms that Mexico is one of the countries that is most interested in taking the risks of implementing generative AI, since five out of 10 executive directors of national companies said that otherwise Doing so will leave them behind and therefore prefer to invest in the technology even before they have a clear understanding of its value.

In this sense, Martín Portillo Concha, director of digital strategy at Huawei Mexico, highlighted the opportunity that AI represents in the workplace, due to its potential to shape solutions without affecting costs and generate palpable results for the end user.

In this regard, McKinsey points out that the demand for technological skills increased by 8% between 2021 and 2023, despite the general reduction in job offers. Likewise, 46% of executive directors consulted in Mexico by IBM said that they intend to hire additional personnel for positions related to this technology that requires a higher level of specialization.

However, one of the most pressing problems they have encountered in this regard is that 55% of CEOs said they have difficulty finding someone to fill those key technological positions. This means an extra need to retrain the workforce over the next three years.

The environmental risks of the future

Just as AI represents an evolution for the world, it also carries great environmental risks. Just in terms of water consumption, to write a 100-word email with this ChatGPT-4 you need 519 milliliters of water, that is, just over an average bottle.

The data comes from a study carried out by the University of California, Riverside, in conjunction with The Washington Post, which details, like any internet service, generative AI tools use data centers to process the information with which they train. However, with these technologies, a greater demand for electricity and cooling systems for data centers is necessary.

Given this, Claudia Camarena, leader of external relations and sustainability at Enel México, urged the need to develop greener platforms, that is, ones that consume less energy and the energy they use comes from clean sources, as well as using AI advances themselves. to monitor and encourage the creation of more effective algorithms in this regard.

Juan Carlos Arroyo, director of digital channels at Banco Azteca, pointed out the fact that by 2035, users will be even more critical and responsible that their consumption decisions adjust to their environmental values. “I’m excited about the future,” he said. “The customers of the future will be committed to their community and will look to technology as an ally.”