Every day, an overwhelming amount of data is generated and stored on our phones, in the cloud, and in data centres. As our world becomes increasingly digital, finding sustainable ways to store this data has become a critical issue. Traditional data centres consume large amounts of energy and resources to power everything from social media to AI. However, there may be a solution to this problem in an unexpected place – plant DNA.
American-Hawaiian researchers Keolu Fox and Cliff Kapono have proposed the idea of using the genetic material of plants, such as sugarcane, as eco-friendly data storage units. This concept combines traditional ecological knowledge with data science and has the potential to eliminate the need for silicon chips and data centres. Since their TED talk in 2024, Fox and Kapono have been actively working on projects to explore the idea of biological data centres.
Their vision, called “Earth-friendly computation,” focuses on establishing decentralised, climate-resilient data centres that use renewable energy sources like solar, wind, saltwater, and hydroelectric power. It also aims to implement these systems on sovereign Indigenous lands. Fox highlighted two key projects to AIM: the first, called “Breathing Life Back into Zombie GPUs,” repurposes discarded but functional GPUs to reduce electronic waste and extend hardware lifespans, thereby cutting carbon emissions from AI and machine learning. The second project, “Green Rush Prospector,” is a GIS-based app that helps plan sustainable data centre locations by overlaying geographic data on indigenous reservations and factoring in renewable energy, biodiversity, and topography.
When asked about physical tests to determine the success of plant DNAs, Fox stated that they have conducted initial tests using the GIS prospecting app to map out optimal locations for small, self-sustaining data-processing units, which they refer to as “data terrariums.” He also commented on the potential reduction in the environmental footprint of biological data centres compared to traditional ones, stating that they have the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of the growing data centre industry by incorporating innovations like repurposing “zombie GPUs” and using natural ecosystems as part of the data infrastructure.
In another development, Microsoft, in collaboration with the University of Washington, has demonstrated the first fully automated DNA data storage system. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, the impact of data centres on global emissions cannot be ignored. With over 50 billion IoT devices expected to be online by 2025, producing 80 billion terabytes of data, it is crucial to find sustainable solutions like biological data centres to reduce the environmental impact of AI and data processing.
