‘Sustainable AI’ is an Oxymoron
AI demand is skyrocketing, straining energy, water and communities as data centers expand faster than sustainable solutions can keep up.
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Protect Your Energy, Water and Patients
In our previous blog post, we explained why the AI of 2026 is not sustainable. Now, we want to look at what we can do about it, especially because radiology leads healthcare AI adoption1.
Although ‘Sustainable AI’ is not a reality now, ‘AI for Sustainability’ is. Dr. Florence Doo has a great article about just this, check it out2. Radiologists should use AI to make radiology practices more sustainable – like scheduling scanner down times, optimizing imaging protocols to reduce scan times, and integrated decision-support tools to reduce unnecessary imaging. Although without accurate data of AI resource consumption, it’s hard to know if these changes will actually be sustainable.
Radiology practices should prepare for increased energy blackouts and water scarcity, especially during extreme weather events. Do you have robust emergency plans for when the power goes down? Do you have backup generators? Consider switching to solar panels like many radiologists in Puerto Rico did after experiencing lengthy blackouts, especially if you practice teleradiology.
Do you have data centers moving in nearby? If yes, your patients will be dealing with light pollution, poor air quality, and increased noise levels3. Prepare for increased demand for your most vulnerable populations, like those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.
Are you considering purchasing an AI product? Ask the important questions upfront about return on investment, energy usage, and cloud storage and check out AI Central for available AI products for radiology. If you are already using AI in your practice, double check that you are getting your return on investment and prepare for more frequent AI outages in your emergency plans.
Before you ask ChatGPT, consider whether you really need AI or if the old internet will suffice. It’s hard to avoid using AI these days. The default when Googling is to get an AI overview but there are avenues to avoid it. In Google, you can choose to use the ‘Web’ version or append ‘-ai’ to your search to prevent an AI overview being generated. You can choose a more traditional search application, like DuckDuckGo, though it’s hard to know how long they will stay ‘AI free’.
Do you have data centers moving in nearby and want to organize? Learn how these communities in Indiana and Virginia blocked or delayed data center projects5,6.
Thanks for reading, go outside and enjoy our beautiful planet!
‘Sustainable AI’ is an Oxymoron
AI demand is skyrocketing, straining energy, water and communities as data centers expand faster than sustainable solutions can keep up.
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