A Bite of Learning– From Tokens to Tonnes: What do we know about the environmental impact of LLMs?

November 14, 2025 12:15–1 p.m.

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Elizabeth Hodas
ehodas@hmc.edu

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Sarah Kavassalis, assistant professor of climate and chemistry, will share what we know about the environmental impact of the current AI boom. There is still great uncertainty about the water and energy use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, from the rapid expansion of data centres driven by the LLM-ification of our daily lives. Do we actually know the climate consequences of ChatGPT? Why not? Kavassalis provides some background on why carbon emissions matter for the climate, how we expect companies to report those emissions, how we use those emissions in climate models, and how we look for "gaps" in reporting with observations. She'll provide context for why some of the figures that are floating around in the popular media are still controversial, and why this climate scientist is concerned.

This event is for: faculty, staff, students

Community Connections events provide opportunities for HMC faculty, students and staff to cultivate community, foster open conversations and share important information as together we live out our mission and shape the future of the College.