by Peter Nielsen
In the past few days, I, like any Cal Poly student, have received several messages in my university email. Of those, two in particular stuck out to me.
The first was an email from the Office of Sustainability on campus, a message both plain and plaintive: Would I take a brief survey regarding the sustainability of the university? Since I wasn’t doing anything important other than checking my email, I did what I felt was responsible and gave it a moment of my time.
As I recall, the survey asked for me to explain my knowledge of the sustainability programs on campus, my feelings on them, and my understanding of the concept of sustainability in general. I felt generally confident in answering the questions; after all, any Humboldt student would surely have some awareness of the “green” initiatives, from the food composted diligently by workers in The J to roving RA’s urging residents to turn off electronics not in use and save a few watts. And, of course, it’s often said that Humboldt County as a whole has a community that encourages sustainable practices and products. From paper coffee cups to public transportation, electric vehicles to the many varieties of locally sourced, small-batch cannabis. The Humboldt community seems to have a good relationship with the university, or, failing that, at least similar goals in sustainability. My coworker, pushing 50, often cycles to work — about nine miles from his house in Eureka — along what I’m told is a relatively new bike path. On campus, you’d be hard-pressed to find a spot to sit that’s more than twenty feet or so from a recycling bin, or to walk to class without a cyclist whizzing past you. Cal Poly Humboldt, it could be said, is sustainable.
Considering all this, it came as almost a shock to receive the second email that caught my attention this week: an email from OpenAI, straight into my university-assigned inbox, inviting me to join a workspace for “ChatGPT EDU” called — you guessed it — “Cal Poly Humboldt.” Whatever could this mean? In the contemporary discourse on artificial intelligence, it’s often said — and often believed — that AI uses a lot of water. This is somewhat true; cooling systems used in data centers that process users’ AI requests and prompts use massive amounts of freshwater. Yes, 70% of the Earth is covered by water; however, only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater. It’s estimated by the United Nations Environmental Report that close to two-thirds of the world’s population will experience a water shortage at least one month out of every year, with that number increasing in the near future. The report states that water use should be “’Decoupled’ from economic growth by developing policies… to reduce or maintain consumption.” Generative AI specifically has also markedly raised the water usage of many artificial intelligence companies.
Less discussed, yet still relevant, is AI’s electricity usage — data centers are projected to reach 12% of the US’s total electricity consumption by the year 2028, according to the 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report. The amount of electricity and water used to create, maintain and operate data centers continues to rise, without any associated rise in sustainable methods or technologies to offset this increased usage. AI, it could be said, is not sustainable.
So, wait; if Cal Poly Humboldt is sustainable, why is it encouraging students to use AI?
I’ve had several teachers spanning critical thinking with computers to native american studies, showing in their classes how Google AI summaries, Large Language Models and yes, even ChatGPT, are decidedly incorrect or misinformed in a variety of situations. Every course syllabus I read during my first week of classes included a clause prohibiting the use of artificial intelligence for coursework and assignments. What I initially saw as the university’s stance on AI, that it shouldn’t be used in an academic setting, is being contradicted by this invitation, this encouragement to use AI. It flies in the face of the sustainable vision mentioned on Cal Poly Humboldt’s website, claiming: “We are proud of our longstanding commitment to environmental and social responsibility.”
It would seem to me that there is no pride in that commitment. I certainly can’t take any pride in it, given the circumstances. I would go so far as to say that at this moment, that commitment has been broken. In my opinion, AI has no place at a college that wants to call itself sustainable.
Where does that leave us? The survey asked me if, while applying to colleges, Cal Poly Humboldt’s drive for sustainability was a factor in my decision to attend. I answered yes. When it came down to it, choosing the right college was choosing a place I could grow into the kind of person that enacts positive change in the world. Humboldt certainly seemed like the place to do just that — and I believe it still can be. I hope that the university, as it continues to grow and change — just like its students are proud to do — can return to and honor its stated ideals, so that we may all take pride in a campus committed to sustainability.
Peter Nielsen (he/him/any) is a freshman at Cal Poly Humboldt and an avid writer and poet. He is double majoring in Theatre and Computer Science. He is deeply passionate about environmental and humanistic topics.
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