Role of Artificial Intelligence for Environment Protection: An Analysis

Artificial intelligence emerges as a pivotal tool in environmental protection. This domain remains critical for sustaining natural resources vital to human survival. Escalating threats include climate change, air pollution, biodiversity loss. Existing literature explores AI’s technical applications predominantly. It overlooks comprehensive ethno-legal frameworks governing environmental deployment. This reveals a significant research gap. This study investigates AI’s capacity to enhance environmental governance while scrutinizing its ecological footprint. The objective is to evaluate AI’s dual role. AI facilitates sustainable development through innovative solutions. It exacerbates resource consumption concurrently. The study proposes regulatory mechanisms aligned with constitutional mandates–Article 48A and 51A(g), Constitution of India. A mixed-methodology approach integrates doctrinal analysis with case studies. Legal texts include the Environment Protection Act 1986. Case studies dissect AI’s efficacy. Google DeepMind achieves 40% energy reduction in data centers. SilviaTerra maps forest carbon via machine learning. Focus areas cover climate modeling, air quality forecasting, species monitoring, compliance enforcement. Preliminary results indicate AI optimizes environmental data processing—e.g., IBM Green Horizon’s 72-hour pollution forecasts—yielding promising outcomes in predictive accuracy (spatiotemporal trends) and policy support. However, findings highlight AI’s energy-intensive nature—e.g., high carbon emissions from large language models—underscoring unaddressed ecological costs. Implications suggest a balanced framework proves imperative. Reactive Reactive AI applications (e.g., Wildbook’s species tracking) excel in enforcement, yet proactive measures—energy-efficient algorithms—demand prioritization to curb e-waste. This study bridges the gap by advocating adaptive legal standards. These mirror UNFCCC commitments. AI’s environmental benefits must outweigh detriments. This ensures viability. It lays groundwork for future interdisciplinary research into scalable, ethically sound AI deployments, reinforcing sustainable development’s economic, social, environmental triad.