Generalized green and red concepts for artificial intelligence, big data, and information and communication technologies: Multidimensional framework and countermeasures

Abstract

The rapid expansions of artificial intelligence (AI), big data (BD), and information and communication technologies (ICT) are driving substantial growth in electricity, water, and material demands, with data centers projected to consume 6.7--12\% of U.S. electricity by 2028 (up from 4.4\% in 2023) and AI-related water demand estimated at 4--6 billion m$^3$ annually by 2027. Existing ``green AI'' and ``red AI'' discussions have largely emphasized computational efficiency and carbon emissions, providing limited guidance for lifecycle trade-offs, service-versus-use impacts, and broader sustainability externalities beyond energy. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes generalized green AI (GGAI) and generalized red AI (GRAI) and extends the taxonomy to red BD (RBD) and red ICT (RICT) as well as red electronic and electrical engineering (REEE) \& red digital technologies (RDT) under a unified Environmental-Economic-Social-Technical/Operational (E/Ec/S/T) framework. Based on representative footprint indicators in the large-model era (electricity, carbon, water, and e-waste), we analyze how risks propagate across AI-BD-ICT stacks and across service-use boundaries. We further organize actionable countermeasures into a four-tier taxonomy aligned with the Environmental-Economic-Social-Technical/Operational framework: metric-level reform for accountability, revision of information and communication technologies design principles and demand shaping, efficiency-oriented LLM development practices (data, model, training, and scaling), and energy-infrastructure transition. The proposed framework operationalizes the Environmental-Economic-Social-Technical/Operational-aligned assessment and intervention prioritization across the AI-BD-ICT stacks, enabling sustainability-by-design without sacrificing utility.