Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Computer Science

Reader 1

Winston Ou

Reader 2

Christina Edholm

Abstract

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to expand in both its reach and capability, its environmental impact, particularly energy and water usage, is an urgent concern. To understand the current research and create public resources detailing AI's environmental impacts, the Union of Concerned Scientists clinic team created an in-depth literature review to highlight the current state of artificial intelligence's energy and water consumption and an accessible, public-facing website to educate the United State's public and decision-makers. To create a public-facing resource guide, the website translates the literature review's content into non-technical, interactive explanations about AI's impact on energy and water. Throughout this thesis, we detail the process of researching and analyzing trends within artificial intelligence's energy and water usage and applying them throughout our website in user stories, website development, and website feedback. We continue to discuss current research in the complimentary literature review to propose future areas of research and critical processes to lessen the energy and water withdrawal from artificial intelligence and data centers. We conclude by highlighting the limitations of current research.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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