AI may produce millions of tonnes of electronic waste by 2030, study finds

Rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence requires frequent upgrades to hardware and chip technology, leaving existing equipment obsolete

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Without efforts to reduce it, electronic waste from AI is expected to see significant growth. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:00pm, 4 Nov 2024Updated: 12:57pm, 4 Nov 2024

Generative artificial intelligence could create close to 1,000 times more electronic waste by the start of the next decade, a global analysis has found.

Without any waste reduction measures, e-waste from AI would see significant growth – from 2,600 tonnes in 2023 to 2.5 million tonnes in 2030, the scientists said.

That would be equivalent to the world’s projected population in 2030 of 8.5 billion people throwing away nearly two iPhones each.

The rapid rise of generative AI requires frequent upgrades to hardware and chip technology, often rendering existing electronic equipment obsolete. That equipment contains toxic metals including lead and chromium which are hazardous to health and the environment, as well as precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum that could potentially be recycled.

“Our findings indicate that this e-waste stream could increase, potentially reaching a total accumulation of 1.2 to 5 million tonnes during 2020 to 2030,” the researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Reichman University in Israel said.

“This may be intensified in the context of geopolitical restrictions on semiconductor imports and the rapid server turnover for operational cost savings,” they wrote in an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Computational Science on October 28.