Certain AI prompts generate 50x more CO₂ than others

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In recent years, researchers and climate advocates have been ringing the alarm about artificial intelligence's impact on the environment. Advanced and increasingly popular large language models (LLMs)--such as those offered by OpenAI and Google--reside in massive data centers that consume significant amounts of electricity and water to cool servers. Every time someone types a question or phrase into one of these platforms, the energy used to generate a response produces a measurable amount of potentially harmful CO₂. But, according to a new research published in Frontiers in Communication, not all of those prompts leave have the same environmental impact.