{"id":1076,"date":"2025-11-13T19:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/ia-e-energia-o-dilema-ambiental-da-tecnologia\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T03:30:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T06:30:15","slug":"ai-and-energy-the-environmental-dilemma-of-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/ai-and-energy-the-environmental-dilemma-of-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"AI and energy: the environmental dilemma of technology."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Podcast about the subject<\/strong> Listen on Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n

Technology advances, but leaves a heavy environmental footprint.<\/h2>\n

While artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize entire sectors of the economy, a silent challenge is gaining gigantic proportions: the energy and water consumption of the data centers that power these machines. The expansion of AI companies will require an unprecedented consumption of natural resources, creating a tension between innovation and sustainability that governments and companies have not yet fully resolved.<\/p>\n

The hidden cost of data centers.<\/h3>\n

The chips in computers running artificial intelligence heat up intensely during processing. To keep these systems running 24 hours a day, a complex cooling system is necessary: large-scale air conditioning and pipes with cold water that constantly circulate through the equipment. After passing through the computers, this water heats up and is discarded.<\/p>\n

The paradox is curious: while Silicon Valley promotes itself as a center of cutting-edge innovation, its biggest energy expenditure is on air conditioning. According to Christopher Wellise, vice president of sustainability at Equinix, heat removal is so critical that fans alone are not enough\u2014massive cooling infrastructure is needed.<\/p>\n

Renewable energy sources are not keeping up with demand.<\/h3>\n

Technology companies and data centers sign long-term contracts with renewable energy suppliers, paying them to expand production. However, all the energy generated enters the same system, making it impossible to trace which electron came from which source \u2014 as explained by Fernando Valle, a sustainability expert.<\/p>\n

The situation has become more complex recently. The Trump administration ordered a halt to new wind and solar energy projects in the United States, creating uncertainty about the ability of companies to continue generating renewable energy at an accelerated pace.<\/p>\n

Brazil invests in nuclear technology and the bioeconomy.<\/h2>\n

While the world debates the environmental cost of AI, Brazil is charting a different course. This Thursday (13), the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, met with the President of the Council of the China Isotope and Radiation Corporation to strengthen cooperation in radiopharmaceuticals \u2014 essential inputs for cancer diagnoses and treatments.<\/p>\n

The partnership foresees the expansion of national production by the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN), technology transfer, and intellectual property protection. The expectation is that the Chinese subsidiary will begin operating in Brazil sometime in 2026, generating greater technological autonomy in the healthcare sector.<\/p>\n

Green innovation at COP30<\/h3>\n

At COP30 in Bel\u00e9m, Finep (Financing Agency for Studies and Projects) highlighted the role of technological innovation and green financing. Between 2023 and now, more than 400 startups have been supported by programs such as Tecnova, Centelha, and Inovacred. Three new public calls for proposals were announced, including the Pr\u00f3-Amaz\u00f4nia call, which allocates R$150 million for research infrastructure in the Legal Amazon.<\/p>\n

Priority themes include decarbonization of transport, sustainable fuels, energy generation and storage, bioeconomy, and circular economy.<\/p>\n

Technology transfer remains stalled.<\/h2>\n

Despite progress, technology transfer between developed and developing countries remains one of the most difficult issues in climate negotiations. The Paris Agreement provides for this transfer to assist poorer nations in mitigating and adapting to climate change, but the issue emerged without agreement from the preparatory meeting in Bonn in June.<\/p>\n

For developing countries, this transfer is essential to accelerate climate adaptation plans and meet their national emissions reduction targets.<\/p>\n

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash<\/small><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Technology advances, but leaves a heavy environmental footprint. While artificial intelligence promises to revolutionize entire sectors of the economy, a silent challenge is gaining gigantic proportions: the energy and water consumption of the data centers that power these machines. The expansion of data center companies\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow74DeCw:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[276,280,17,55,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-1076","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tecnologia","8":"tag-data-centers","9":"tag-energia-renovavel","10":"tag-inteligencia-artificial","11":"tag-sustentabilidade","12":"tag-tecnologia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1076"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3276,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions\/3276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulseq.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}