Sustainable AI

Epilogue

Every few days during the course of writing this book, a new model or method was touted as the next big thing. As a researcher in the domain, it was quite difficult not to be swayed by such excitement and to refrain from including each shiny new technical development and trend. This does not mean the book is stale; it has all the essential you need to understand even the most recent AI methods. None of the arguments I had from the outset for pursuing sustainable AI changed at all; if anything, they became even more pertinent with each new model or AI product.

When a new model or method is published tomorrow that is not rooted in sustainability, I urge you to use the tools presented here to assess and grapple with its true sustainability. As I see it, at least in the near future, sustainable AI will have to play catch-up until we have a systemic shift in how technology is developed. And that requires deep concern, persistent effort, and education of all the involved stakeholders. I have laid out the challenges, discussed several technical tools, curated a rich collection of literature, and presented relevant conceptual frameworks in this book, with the hope that it will serve as a useful resource in understanding and realizing the full potential and implications of building sustainable AI.