AI versus Marshy - How AI might destroy our planet.

How AI might destroy our planet. Via Per Capita Podcast and other sources linked below. I’ve mentioned the AI is an existential threat doom mongering before (and I’ll do it again!) So here’s a snippet from OpenAI’s original launch story : ​ But is i?This “ we could be doomed so trust us to help ” schtick has carried throughout AI’s trajectory. I’ve already mentioned that fuelling this interest is very expensive. But its also bad for other reasons: Despite being one of the most visible and hyped technologies of all time - it’s surprisingly hard to find data on energy usage/cost from the largest companies. This paper has a go at categorising things based on type of tasks generative AI completes, compared against energy usage and emissions. Generating images, generates the most emissions It also looks like its taking a lot of water . The reason is the data centres that power AI require water for cooling. But this is all powered by cleaner energy right? RIGHT? Well in the US some old coal plants are being kept open to accommodate the extra demands on power that data centres are creating. Love a good excuse to use a memeDo you know what else is powered by data centres? Bitcoin, and this article from TIME investigates sound pollution and its health impacts on a small town in Texas (just to add to the above noise ;). ​Locally, there’s a podcast called Per Capita which featured some great discussion on how this follows in Australia. Here 5% of our energy consumption is data centre-led, and this number could double in the future. One of the best points from the podcast is that the bet on AI isn’t just a financial one. Technology companies can afford to speculate because of their healthy balance sheets. But they’re also gambling on the environmental impacts as the energy and water consumption questions are currently running mostly unchecked. It’s worth a listen . Originally appeared in newsletter: AI versus Marshy 58 - making money, stealing power, and switching apps