Study on the Full Life-Cycle Environmental Impact and Systematic Optimization of Large Models

Abstract

While large-scale artificial intelligence models drive technological innovation, their entire lifecycle is accompanied by significant energy consumption and carbon emissions, posing a real risk of sliding from the vision of “Green AI” toward the reality of a “high-carbon technology”. This paper constructs a three-tier analytical framework encompassing the training, inference, and hardware infrastructure stages to systematically assess the environmental impact of large models. Furthermore, it analyzes the underlying causes of the high-carbon dilemma from three dimensions: technological dependency, economic incentives, and governance gaps. The research indicates that a single technological optimization is insufficient for achieving sustainable transformation. It is necessary to collaboratively advance algorithm lightweighting, system scheduling optimization, industry standard establishment, and an ethical paradigm shift to construct a multi-level, systematic development pathway for Green AI. Only through the co-evolution of technology, policy, and culture can artificial intelligence be genuinely guided to become an enabler for addressing environmental challenges.