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  4. New Zealand IT Managers Unaware of the Sustainability Impact of Artificial Intelligence, Pure Storage commissioned research finds

New Zealand 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

Auckland, New Zealand – 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 and New Zealand 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 New Zealand, data centres are growing rapidly, up to 17 per cent compound annual growth.

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:

“There is a lot of conversation happening right now about New Zealand's productivity and forecasted economic growth of less than 1% for 2024. The adoption of AI in the New Zealand economy will provide organisations here with opportunities for efficiency, innovation and growth, but it will also supercharge the growth in data centres. But we also know the deployment of AI will put additional strain on the energy grid and challenge the environmental sustainability goals that we have as a nation. This timely report from the ISF should serve as a starting point for an economy-wide discussion in New Zealand around how we manage the pace of development with its impact on environmental sustainability.”

Sam Schuurman
New Zealand Country Manager, Pure Storage

“A clear picture is emerging that while Australia & New Zealand 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:

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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