Could AI Go Green?

Short Wave

Google, Microsoft and Meta have all pledged to reach at least net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Amazon set their net-zero deadline for 2040. To understand how these four tech companies could possibly meet their climate goals amid an artificial intelligence renaissance, Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong discusses the green AI movement. Speaking with scientists, CEOs and tech insiders, she explores three possible pathways: nuclear energy, small language models (SLMs) and back-to-the-future ways of keeping data centers cool.

Listen to Part 1 of Short Wave's reporting on the environmental cost of AI here.

Have a question about AI and the environment? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at
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Google, Microsoft and Meta have all pledged to reach at least net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Amazon set their net-zero deadline for 2040. To understand how these four tech companies could possibly meet their climate goals amid an artificial intelligence renaissance, Short Wave co-host Emily Kwong discusses the green AI movement. Speaking with scientists, CEOs and tech insiders, she explores three possible pathways: nuclear energy, small language models (SLMs) and back-to-the-future ways of keeping data centers cool.

Listen to Part 1 of Short Wave's reporting on the environmental cost of AI here.

Have a question about AI and the environment? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at
plus.npr.org/shortwave.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy
2025-05-09 15 min
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