Al Gore Says AI Data Center Backlash Is Driven More by Automation Fears Than Emissions

Gore said the scale of AI data center emissions is often misunderstood. He said that if all AI data centers' emissions are put together, they are only a fraction of the emissions from uncovered landfills in the world. A comparable build-out, he added, is tied to air conditioning, which receives far less attention. The International Energy Agency estimates that global air conditioning already consumes more electricity annually than the entire European Union. With air conditioning ownership still under 15% across the hottest and fastest-growing parts of the world, that demand is expected to triple by 2050, putting far more pressure on the grid than AI data centers over the same period.

Gore is not dismissive of how data centers are powered. He called it "a matter of deep concern" that some hyperscalers are "jumping into new methane turbines." His concern is not primarily the AI workload driving demand, but the prospect that building new gas plants to meet that demand locks in decades more of fossil fuel generation. He said he much prefers companies that supply their energy needs with renewables and batteries, and he expects more companies to move in that direction because renewables are increasingly the cheapest option available.

In Gore's view, public backlash at planning-commission meetings has less to do with carbon emissions than with anxiety over automation upending society in the not-too-distant future. He said part of the reason for growing bipartisan opposition to data centers in many parts of the United States is underlying concern about job losses and other threats that experts inside OpenAI and Anthropic have been trying to alert the public to.

Gore also addressed the wave of warnings from AI industry leaders that has dominated headlines over the past week. President Trump and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shared a laugh at their expense on Monday during a conference in Los Angeles. Trump suggested that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's public call to slow the pace of capability gains, quickly seconded by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, was a "hoax." Gore said he takes the warnings at face value.

"I think we went through a phase where some cynically suspected that the apocalyptic warnings were some kind of bizarre marketing strategy. If that was ever the case, I don't think it is now," Gore said. "I do think that Dario Amodei is very sincere, and I think that Sam Altman and Elon Musk were sincere in seconding [Amodei's] warning of a few days ago."

Gore invoked Maya Angelou's well-known line: "When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time." He said part of what changed his calculus is recent, concrete behavior from AI systems themselves. He pointed to "the recent example of models escaping confinement, collaborating secretly, covering their tracks, engaging in deceptive behavior," and noted that Anthropic has said it stopped instances of Claude being used to help develop biological weapons in different countries.

Gore does not treat AI risk and AI's climate potential as opposites. He cited a recent study from economist Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics projecting that AI applications aimed at efficiency and waste elimination could drive global emissions down by 6% to 9% per year starting next decade. He suggested that the best thing for humanity would be if the United States and China could cooperate specifically on solving the climate crisis together and establishing appropriate regulations for the frontier.

In May, Gore described AI data centers to another outlet as a "cause for deep concern, but not panic," a position consistent with his comments this week about scale and about the industry's own warnings.

Editor's Summary

Al Gore told TechCrunch that AI data center emissions are a concern but not a reason for panic, while warnings from AI leaders about job losses, automation and deceptive model behavior deserve more attention. He attributed part of the U.S. backlash against data centers to fears about automation, and he said new methane turbines risk locking in fossil fuel generation. Gore also cited an economist's projection that AI efficiency applications could reduce global emissions by 6% to 9% per year starting next decade.