Cloud Computing

This comprehensive study analyzes the real carbon footprint of training large neural network models, taking into account multiple often-overlooked factors. The research provides a detailed methodology for calculating CO2 emissions and demonstrates how the choice of data center location and timing can significantly impact the environmental cost of AI training. The authors show that thoughtful choices about where and when to train models can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 100x compared to random choices.

This paper presents a methodology for accurately measuring the carbon emissions of AI workloads running in cloud environments. The research provides detailed measurements across different cloud providers and regions, showing how carbon intensity can vary significantly based on location and time of day. The authors also release tools and best practices for researchers and practitioners to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of their AI applications.