arXiv Machine Learning By Cl\'ement Morand (STL), Anne-Laure Ligozat (ENSIIE, LISN, STL), Aur\'elie N\'ev\'eol (STL, LISN)

The Environmental Impacts of Language Model Training Keep Rising Now is the Time to Catch Impacts on the Rebound

Read the original on arXiv Machine Learning →

The paper analyzes the environmental footprint of machine learning model training, focusing on large language models and their hardware. It finds that energy use and environmental impacts have risen exponentially over the past decade, even when employing carbon‑efficient electricity and more efficient hardware. The study argues that optimization strategies alone cannot curb these impacts due to a rebound effect, and stresses the need to evaluate hardware life‑cycle impacts and integrate environmental metrics into NLP research practices.

Machine-generated by The Flow from the publisher's headline and feed description — not written or checked by a human. The full article lives at arXiv Machine Learning.

arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 19

Wasted large language models: A life cycle thinking approach

The paper argues that large language models (LLMs) have a growing carbon footprint and that current efficiency gains are offset by rebound effects such as Jevons Paradox. It proposes applying the EU waste hierarchy—prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal—to LLMs, suggesting that preventing waste and unnecessary use can significantly reduce environmental impact. The authors emphasize that treating LLMs as products that can become waste offers new ways to motivate more sustainable practices.

By Erik Johannes Husom, Maria Emine Nylund, Ophelia Prillard
arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 13

A Survey on the Green Development of Large Models: From Resource-Efficient Architectures to Hardware-Software Co-Design

arXiv:2607. 09084v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The rapid expansion of large-scale AI models has led to significant performance breakthroughs across diverse domains, yet it has also raised critical concerns regarding computational costs, energy consumption, and environmental sustainability.

By Linhui Xiao, Guiping Cao, Mingyue Guo, Xianchao Guan, Fan Yang, Ming Tao, Xin Li, Yuxin Peng, Yaowei Wang
arXiv AI
Jul 3

The Rising Unsustainability of AI Graphics Cards Production

arXiv:2607. 01258v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been accompanied by significant increases in computational and environmental costs, driven by large-scale investments in AI infrastructure, hardware, and software.

By Cl\'ement Morand, Aur\'elie N\'ev\'eol, Anne-Laure Ligozat