The Unpaid Toll: Quantifying the Public Health Impact of AI
The environmental health impacts and associated environmental injustice of AI’s full lifecycle—from semiconductor manufacturing to datacenter operations—remain poorly quantified. Method: We develop the first integrated AI health impact quantification framework, combining multi-source emission inventories, life cycle assessment, atmospheric transport modeling, health risk assessment, and spatial environmental justice statistics. Contribution/Results: Training Llama3.1 generates PM₂.₅ emissions equivalent to over 10,000 round-trip automobile journeys between Los Angeles and New York. Health burdens exhibit pronounced spatial heterogeneity—up to a 200-fold disparity across U.S. census tracts—disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. By 2030, AI-related datacenter operations in the U.S. are projected to incur annual health costs exceeding $20 billion. We propose mandatory disclosure standards for AI health externalities and a health-centered governance framework to advance equitable, sustainable AI development.