The web is the world’s largest application platform, with billions of daily users. It has evolved far beyond its modest hyperdocument roots and now delivers ambitious digital experiences powered by a vast ecosystem of servers, databases, content management systems, and numerous libraries used on both the back end and front end.
Traditionally, the focus of web development has been on improving developer efficiency—producing more within the same timeframe. Sustainability and energy consumption have been secondary or even tertiary concerns, and are often forgotten entirely.
As a result, IT in general consumes an estimated 4–10% of the world’s electricity and produces more greenhouse gas emissions than aviation. The inefficiencies of the web are a significant part of this impact, as most modern systems are accessed through web interfaces.
Meanwhile, AI usage is growing exponentially and is increasingly integrated into content management systems and the web at large. Common use cases include automatic image captioning, translation, content generation, deep analytics, and more.
In this session, I will explore how the web consumes energy, the major drivers behind this consumption, and what designers and developers can do to reduce it.
The session will continue with a brief analysis of AI’s energy footprint, comparing different use cases such as text generation and image generation.
By the end of the session, you will likely oscillate between thoughts of “we are screwed” and “yes, we can do it.” The session will conclude on a high note, outlining a path forward.
About the speaker
Janne Kalliola, the founder of Exove, is an open source enthusiastic and green code evangelist. He is working on his PhD thesis in Aalto University.
Prior, Janne was the Chief Growth Officer for 3 years and the CEO of Exove for 16 years. Prior to Exove, he worked as Director of Product Development at Continuent, leading the product development activities and process development.