-All the resources that they're using to produce and keep those computers cool, you know?

You've got to look at the environmental impacts very closely.

-Artificial intelligence already has a huge environmental impact.

One aspect is the energy needs to power it, which are only expected to grow in the coming years.

We've asked people we've interviewed on The Newsfeed for their thoughts on AI.

Today, hear how worried some people are about the real world impact.

-One thing that's interesting about this demand for electricity is happening at the same time that we are working really hard to convert from fossil fuels in our transportation sector, in heating our buildings, and we have these basically big holdups in our transmission line corridors.

Right.

And so I think there's a potential win win if these data, large scale data center companies can help us build the the electric grid, the transmission lines to power their needs, but also that can power our cities and region more generally.

But if we're not regulating it correctly and they're just soaking up all the energy or making our climate goals even harder to achieve, you know, that would be pretty devastating for our region.

-I just want to see them do a more thorough analysis of all the impacts, and let the public really weigh in on whether they want those in their community or not.

It's probably not much of a job creator, so why would you like open up a big part of your city to an AI center where you're not going to get much of a benefit from it?

-Look for this story on one of our Cascade PBS social media platforms, and let us know your thoughts on the environmental impact of this technology.

Next time, hear what some Washington elected leaders think government should be doing about it.

I'm Paris Jackson, thanks for watching The Newsfeed.