How does the Metaverse impact the environment?

💡 The metaverse, the convergence of the virtual, augmented, and digital worlds, is already impacting the environment despite being completely virtual. Virtual reality technology and data centers that run AI and cloud services require significant amounts of energy and could lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

🌍 A study found that training one AI model generates 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, more than five times the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by a car in its lifetime. The continuous development of VR technology will also increase e-waste, which pollutes the soil, groundwater, and landfills. To lower the metaverse’s environmental impact, corporations should use eco-friendly methods and individuals can recycle e-waste, shop for electronics secondhand, and stream in SD instead of HD.

🔎 You can find more details on why the environmental impact of the metaverse here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/how-metaverse-actually-impacts-the-environment

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