Vitality is openly considering using strategies to offset the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) technology on the environment, the insurer revealed.
However the ‘acute’ problem of the vast energy volumes used by AI processing is likely to remain until carbon neutral energy is widely available, the Association of British Insurers’ annual conference heard.
Health and protection sector insurers were particularly aware of the juxtaposition of these new technologies, given their overarching view of population health.
Health and climate trade-offs
When asked specifically about AI’s impact on carbon footprints by Health & Protection, Deepak Jobanputra, chief sustainability officer at Vitality (pictured second from left), maintained that AI has brought a number of technological innovations benefitting the sector.
“It can determine how cancers might progress, so there are some brilliant innovations that can help health and climate outcomes,” Jobanputra said.
“Clearly there is a point about the extent of energy use of these models is very, very significant.”
In terms of the technology’s impact on the environment, Jobanputra added this issue will mean coming to trade-offs.
“We see a lot of the big AI countries investing very heavily in data centres and energy centres, but a lot of this is about trade-offs.
“A lot of the good outcomes are brilliant for humanity and help society progress.
“We need to balance this against these carbon emissions and we need to be responsible in our approach.”
Determining the moral remainder
Jobanputra cited his own company by way of example.
“One of the things we have been doing at Vitality is looking at this through an ethical, responsible lens and saying what are the pros and cons,” he continued.
“We’ve brought on board a specialist ethics agency to help us with this because there isn’t a right or wrong answer.
“And we need to find what we call a moral remainder, so the moral remainder of the situation is we’re doing all of these great things for health outcomes, and actually you’re releasing all of these carbon emissions.
“Is there a way that we can mitigate that somehow? Where you can either through efficient use of that energy, carbon credits.
“It’s not an easy answer. This will evolve tremendously and we need to find solutions around this.”
‘Can be done more efficiently’
While AI’s impact on carbon footprints is a pressing issue, Paul Schrier, CEO of Simplyhealth (pictured far right), predicted this will be much less of an issue over time.
“It’s a new technology and it’s basically in engineering terms a brute force technology, using tremendous computing power to do things which in many cases you can do by other means more efficiently anyway,” Schrier said.
“Because it’s new there is a lot of money being thrown at it. There is a massive investment being thrown at it globally and a lot of that investment will probably end up being wasted even if the most optimistic scenarios come to bear.
“And some energy consumption will be better directed through more efficient allocation over time.”
Carbon neutral energy
According to Schrier, carbon neutral energy use will change matters.
“Whether it be AI or any other form of energy usage around the world, it’s going to require in the long run a carbon neutral form of energy production,” he continued.
“Once we’ve got to that point, it doesn’t really matter anymore what the energy is being used for,” he added.
“There are many other reasons you want to keep energy down. It’s more efficient. It cuts costs.
“But once we’ve got energy carbon neutral, your question becomes less important. There will be other questions that are a problem, but that should help.
“So I think in the longer run, there are great reasons for optimism, but right now, the issue is particularly acute because of where we are in the cycle and energy production systems.”