How Green is AI?

Question

Not many companies reveal the environmental impact of their AI models

But French AI startup Mistral has disclosed the full environmental footprint of its flagship model, Mistral Large 2 (123B parameters).

• Training the model emitted 20,400 metric tons of CO₂ - equal to the yearly emissions of 4,400 cars

• It consumed 281,000 m³ of water for cooling, what a family of four would use in 500 years

Why it matters:

AI is powerful, but it’s resource-hungry. With demand for large models skyrocketing, it’s time we also talk about sustainability in AI.

Mistral’s analysis sets a potential standard for transparency in the industry.

What do you think - should environmental transparency be made mandatory for AI companies?