Latent Pollution Model: The Hidden Carbon Footprint in 3D Image Synthesis

• Main Authors: Seyfarth, Marvin, Dar, Salman Ul Hassan, Engelhardt, Sandy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 20-07-2024
• Subjects: Computer Science - Learning
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2407.14892

Contemporary developments in generative AI are rapidly transforming the field
of medical AI. These developments have been predominantly driven by the
availability of large datasets and high computing power, which have facilitated
a significant increase in model capacity. Despite their considerable potential,
these models demand substantially high power, leading to high carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions. Given the harm such models are causing to the environment,
there has been little focus on the carbon footprints of such models. This study
analyzes carbon emissions from 2D and 3D latent diffusion models (LDMs) during
training and data generation phases, revealing a surprising finding: the
synthesis of large images contributes most significantly to these emissions. We
assess different scenarios including model sizes, image dimensions, distributed
training, and data generation steps. Our findings reveal substantial carbon
emissions from these models, with training 2D and 3D models comparable to
driving a car for 10 km and 90 km, respectively. The process of data generation
is even more significant, with CO2 emissions equivalent to driving 160 km for
2D models and driving for up to 3345 km for 3D synthesis. Additionally, we
found that the location of the experiment can increase carbon emissions by up
to 94 times, and even the time of year can influence emissions by up to 50%.
These figures are alarming, considering they represent only a single training
and data generation phase for each model. Our results emphasize the urgent need
for developing environmentally sustainable strategies in generative AI.