AI boom has caused same CO2 emissions in 2025 as New York City, report claims

According to recently published research, the global environmental impact of artificial intelligence has reached levels never seen before: water consumption linked to this technology currently exceeds the entire global demand for bottled water, and the boom in this controversial resource has caused CO2 emissions into the atmosphere in 2025 equivalent to the emissions of the entire city of New York.

The data was collected by Alex de Vries-Gao, a Dutch academic and founder of Digiconomist, a company that studies the unintended consequences of digital trends in recent years. Until now, research has focused primarily on the effects of data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence, rather than the consequences of using the technology itself. In 2025, however, the use of ChatGPT and Gemini increased dramatically, making it possible to quantify and calculate the effects caused.

According to the results obtained, the estimated greenhouse gas emissions from the use of AI are now equal to more than 8% of global emissions from the aviation sector.