Denver students push to implement more sustainable AI practices

Denver Public Schools has been teaching students about sustainability for years. But the way it's integrated into the curriculum is changing with the prevalence of artificial intelligence.

"Today, we were presenting about our project AI data centers," Elizabeth Martinez explained.

Martinez is a junior at Denver's Abraham Lincoln High School.

"It's important to me because, as you say, there's a lot of students that don't know how AI works. They don't know how they get the answers and what's the cost of that?" added classmate Jesus Vasquez.

The group, along with other classmates, is working to educate their peers about the potential effects data centers can have on our communities. 

"They use large amounts of energy and large amounts of water to stay cooled down," Martinez explained to a class.

According to a report from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, large data centers can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day.

"It's bad for our environment, and we don't like it," Martinez added.

The International Energy Agency says a typical AI data center uses as much electricity as 100,000 households.

The students are also working on a petition against the construction of a data center in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood.

"The best part of my day is coming out and seeing these types of projects," said Tom Wildman, DPS's director of sustainability. 

"We just want students to be aware of what it means when they're using it, not say, 'Don't use it.' But we want them to have the knowledge and the tools to understand how to use it in a responsible manner," Wildman added.

He says the sustainability department is also working to understand the overall footprint of AI as the district continues to integrate with it. A sign of the times, and the future, with a technology that's transforming industries.

"It can be either a good side of using AI or a bad side," said Vasquez.

"We want them to be educated and informed Denverites, because these are our future leaders," said Wilman.