Australian IT Managers Unaware of the Sustainability Impact of Artificial Intelligence, Pure Storage commissioned research finds

Survey highlights disconnect between the rise of AI and its energy demands

Australian Technology Managers Unaware of the Sustainability Impact of AI - Pure Research

Sydney, Australia – July 2, 2024 – Pure Storage® (NYSE: PSTG), the IT pioneer that delivers the world's most advanced data storage technology and services, in partnership with The University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), today released a report on AI adoption in Australia that highlights a worrying fact: technology managers are unaware of the energy demands of AI and its impact on environmental sustainability. The report, “Drivers of Change: Meeting the Energy and Data Demands of AI Adoption in Australia and New Zealand”, details awareness of and approaches taken by leading IT managers in the region towards the impact of AI adoption on sustainability outcomes.

Industry Significance:

A recent report from the World Economic Forum states that “the computational power required for sustaining AI's rise is doubling roughly every 100 days. The energy required to run AI tasks is already accelerating with an annual growth rate between 26% and 36%. This means by 2028, AI could be using more power than the entire country of Iceland used in 2021.” Most AI is run out of data centres which today account for approximately 4% of global greenhouse gases. In Australia, data centres are estimated to consume up to 5% of the energy grid and some analysts expect that to double by the end of the decade. The rapid growth of Australia’s data centre industry comes at a time of increasing climate risks, and an unprecedented level of focus from regulators, consumers and investors on how companies reduce emissions.

Survey Highlights:

AI is here to stay but IT managers are concerned about energy consumption increasing due to AI adoption
- The use of AI technology is becoming part of everyday practice with 72% of respondents either already adopted it or are piloting AI technologies
- However, 68% of respondents indicated that they had at least some concerns about increased energy consumption for AI needs
- When asked how much energy consumption would increase on AI deployment a picture of uncertainty emerged, with 53% indicating that they were unsure

Despite sustainability responsibilities being allocated to IT managers they are relatively less engaged in energy and sustainability issues
- One third of respondents were key decision makers with 36% of respondents having authority to influence sustainability initiatives
- Respondents ranked sustainability and ESG (38%) as one of their top three overlooked issues

IT managers understand that to meet ESG goals IT infrastructure is critical but they are not considering limiting AI usage
- 69% IT managers understand that to meet ESG goals, IT infrastructure is critical
- Only 4% have adopted the strategy of limiting AI usage to offset energy consumption

Employee skills in AI technology are the most overlooked issue when it comes to AI deployment
- Employee skills in AI technology (58%) are considered the most overlooked issue when it comes to deploying AI technologies

Executive Insight:

“It is good to see Australia and New Zealand embracing AI and it will no doubt benefit organisations, individuals and the economies in the region but we have to be aware of its impact on the environment. This report should serve as a wake up call for the government, regulators, boards of directors and investors that the pace of development needs to be tampered by an equally robust scrutiny on environmental sustainability.”

Amy Rushall

Area Vice President, Australia & New Zealand, Pure Storage

“A clear picture is emerging that while Australia & NewZealand are adopting AI and data centres at a rapid rate, little or no attention is being paid to the significant sustainability impacts they will cause. This should be concerning for not only regulators but for the multi-billion-dollar superannuation and investment sectors, who increasingly see data centres as a source of income. Left unchecked, this will contribute to worsening carbon emissions, risking a further exacerbation of our global warming challenge.” – Gordon Noble Research Director, Business, Economy and Governance, ISF and author of the report Drivers of Change: Meeting the Energy and Data Demands of AI Adoption in Australia and New Zealand

Learn more:

Read the full report: Drivers of Change: Meeting the Energy and Data Demands of AI Adoption in Australia and New Zealand.
Read also the related report conducted in 2023: IT and Data Centre Sustainability in Australia.

About Pure Storage

Pure Storage (NYSE: PSTG) delivers the industry’s most advanced data storage platform to store, manage, and protect the world’s data at any scale. With Pure Storage, organisations have ultimate simplicity and flexibility, saving time, money, and energy. From AI to archive, Pure Storage delivers a cloud experience with one unified Storage as-a-Service platform across on premises, cloud, and hosted environments. Our platform is built on our Evergreen architecture that evolves with your business – always getting newer and better with zero planned downtime, guaranteed. Our customers are actively increasing their capacity and processing power while significantly reducing their carbon and energy footprint. It’s easy to fall in love with Pure Storage, as evidenced by the highest Net Promoter Score in the industry. For more information, visit www.purestorage.com.

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