Acceptance of artificial intelligence on campus has grown significantly in the past year, with the University of Arkansas approving platforms such as Microsoft Copilot and OpenAI ChatGPT Edu for students in January 2026.
According to a 2025 report from the International Energy Agency, the demand for electricity from dedicated AI data centers is on track to more than quadruple by 2030.
Simultaneously, AI usage in the job sector is rapidly increasing. A study by University of Pittsburgh AI researcher Morgan Frank found occupations with high exposure to AI are seeing 20% to 30% salary decreases, as certain cognitive tasks are being replaced with AI.
Tyson King is a freshman studying history and political science. He said he uses AI platforms as a study resource, such as for making Quizlets or checking over his work.
Although King currently takes advantage of the role AI can play as a second pair of eyes, he said he is worried about the negative effects it could have on the labor market he will enter after college.
“I think as it develops over time, it’s definitely going to get smarter and stronger, and I think that could have an impact on the amount of jobs available for people,” King said.
Beyond this, King said he views the environmental impacts of AI as “pretty bad” but is hopeful solutions to this will arise as AI continues to grow.
“Eventually, over time, there will probably be innovations and ways to limit the environmental impact,” King said.
Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, one of OpenAI’s large language models, is estimated to consume 1,287 megawatt-hours of electricity and emit over 550 metric tons of CO2e, according to findings from University of Rhode Island and University of Tunis researchers in May 2025. At the same time, it requires more than 700 kiloliters of water for cooling, enough to fill two-thirds of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, according to the research.
Jacob Yates is a teaching assistant professor in the UA department of information systems. Yates also works as a Walton AI Fellow, tasked with integrating AI into the classroom within the College of Business.
Yates said, despite this title, he would not describe himself as an “AI-first person” before taking on the role. Instead, the business cybersecurity professor noticed the lack of training for students to understand how to use AI in the professional industry.
Using AI for creative immersion is one way Yates is incorporating it into coursework. For example, he said creating a fictitious company and AI-generated voice calls from its stakeholders can help classwork feel more realistic.
Even though Yates is at the forefront of educating UA students about this topic, he said he recognizes the ethical challenges that come with increasing AI usage. However, He said the severity of these concerns vary across fields of study and types of students.
“There’s the ones that want to leverage AI as an enhancer, and they are going further than I’ve ever seen students go before because they are already interested in learning content,” Yates said. “But then there’s also a kind of a second group of students who want to use AI as a shortcut to not have to learn anything, or to just circumvent it.”
While Yates is encouraging students to view AI as a tool, he said he also understands there are environmental issues that arise during the AI process. Yates said this aspect boils down to the AI training in data centers.
Arkansas currently houses 11 data centers across the state, coming from companies like Google and AVAIO Digital.
Data centers have existed for decades within other fields, like telecommunications, Yates said. But, he said, more immediate effects are being seen because of the large amount of information being fed to AI data centers for training purposes.
“I think right now we’re in the wild west of what AI can do, and I think a lot of companies are very focused on ‘How do we get to the next level?’” Yates said. “They’re kind of blinded in this race without worrying about the consequences.”
Because society is in an exploration phase with AI, Yates said he thinks the reality of environmental and financial impacts related to this will hit companies later down the road.
“I feel like when the economics kick in, they’re actually going to start focusing on that type of thing, where they’re like ‘Okay, electricity is expensive, water is expensive and to do all this training is very expensive, and our business model isn’t set up like that,’” Yates said.
Yates said he feels a personal responsibility to educate students on the ins and outs of AI for the sake of securing a future job in their field.
Yates said he has noticed a rise in entry-level positions that require two to three years of experience. He said he feels courses that educate students on how to use AI properly can allow them to gain this knowledge.
“In academia, we have the obligation to bring the experience back into college,” Yates said. “I view that as being very intentional and trying to bring as much experience into the classroom and make it as real as possible, not just keep it at a lecture level.”