Essay Report
Social Sciences, Research, Trinity College Dublin, Leadership & Research Laidlaw Scholars

Behind the Cloud: An investigation into the environmental, political and social impact of growing AI-related data centre infrastructure and related energy consumption in Ireland.

AI may seem like a weightless, invisible tool that can provide us endless answers, but in an Irish context, AI is just as physical as it is digital. Therefore, it is imperative to examine its impacts beyond economic growth. Over the summer, I aimed to investigate what lies behind the cloud.
Go to the profile of Peter McNulty
Peter McNulty
Student, Trinity College, University of Dublin
Like

Share this post

Choose a social network to share with, or copy the URL to share elsewhere

Share with...

This is a representation of how your post may appear on social media. The actual post will vary between social networks

Preview

Open

This research examines the proportion of data centre energy consumption that AI is responsible for, the social and environmental implications of this consumption, and what history, FDI, and disclosure policy can tell us about the data centre economy in Ireland.

Go to the profile of Peter McNulty
Peter McNulty
Student, Trinity College, University of Dublin

Hi, my name is Peter McNulty. I am an Undergraduate Leadership & Research Scholar at Trinity College Dublin.

For my research project, I will be "Pricing the environmental impact of AI-related data centre energy consumption in Ireland" as I think that it is important to balance AI's economic benefits with the growing emissions and energy consumption burden that Ireland faces. This will involve a literature review of EU Carbon Policy, research into carbon market trends and computation of AI-specific consumption costs using EU ETS pricing frameworks.

Outside of my studies, I play guitar, piano and sing in pubs! I also enjoy running long distances for charity.

Recommended Content

Cookie Settings

We and selected partners, use cookies or similar technologies as specified in the cookie policy and privacy policy.

You can consent to the use of such technologies by closing this notice.

Cookie Control

Customise your preferences for any tracking technology

The following allows you to customize your consent preferences for any tracking technology used to help us achieve the features and activities described below. To learn more about how these trackers help us and how they work, refer to the cookie policy. You may review and change your preferences at any time.

Cookie policy Privacy policy
Always active, cannot be turned off
More information

These trackers are used for activities that are strictly necessary to operate or deliver the service you requested from us and, therefore, do not require you to consent.

More information

These trackers help us to deliver personalized marketing content and to operate, serve and track ads.

More information

These trackers help us to deliver personalized marketing content to you based on your behaviour and to operate, serve and track social advertising.

More information

These trackers help us to measure traffic and analyze your behaviour with the goal of improving our service.

More information

These trackers help us to provide a personalized user experience by improving the quality of your preference management options, and by enabling the interaction with external networks and platforms.