Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/12/ais-energy-draw-adds-to-global-climate-issues.html
…
6 Likes
That’s some real top-tier irony right there.
27 Likes
I’m of the view that “AI” should be banned on environmental grounds. Our planet, our home cannot justifiably further damaged in the name of whatever crap “ai” pukes out.
15 Likes
I know of proposed plans for an AI data center, i can’t give too many specifics but the proposed power needs are absolutely humongous. It rivals and even dwarfs anything i’ve ever seen for other industrial/commercial businesses.
15 Likes
What fraction of human-caused CO2 is caused by the expansion of AI?
Isn’t this important to understand?
CHatGPT says: Currently, AI accounts for approximately 0.1% of global human-caused CO2 emissions. Understanding this is important for assessing and mitigating the environmental impact of AI technology.
6 Likes
Yes, let’s keep “studying” the problem, while the world keeps burning…
6 Likes
That’s no moon…
3 Likes
5 Likes
If you assume AI will never lead to anything particularly important or useful then sure, this is a complete waste.
If you assume AI will get to a point in the near future where it miraculously solves all technological problems with novel advanced pseudo-magical solutions then any amount of near term emissions are insignificant.
Where we are between those extremes makes a big practical difference, and is something on which reasonable people can and do disagree. For myself, I’m a cleantech consultant, my career is focused on promoting sustainability and decarbonization, and I still am on the side of thinking the future benefits of AI are likely to be worth the additional energy consumption. There are better and worse ways to meet that demand, of course.
1 Like
It would be better to meet the existing clean energy needs now rather than expending more dirty energy on the hope that Santa won’t deliver a lump of coal.
11 Likes
No, the future benefits are beside the point. Because we could save the power until an AI that’s actually worth the high cost is real, instead of making new coal plants so that google can tell people to eat rocks and destroying angels in hopes it will get better. Our planet is dying not in the near term, but right now.
14 Likes
AFAIK no one is actually proposing building new coal plants. Delaying shutdowns or reactivating old ones, unfortunately yes, but not new ones.
@KathyPartdeux Yes, but that’s only indirectly an AI problem. We have the technological and economic capability to do both. What we don’t have are the regulatory processes and energy market structures to permit ourselves to build what we need, especially not on a reasonable timescale. Instead we have many local and state governments making it harder to build new clean power to meet current needs, let alone the infrastructure that would help it get to higher penetration rates and overcome future intermittency issues.
That’s debatable. What we don’t have is the time to do both.
5 Likes
The coal plants already exist, and any energy we waste now powering the current generation of AIs (whose contributions to society are dubious at best) puts more carbon in the atmosphere.
7 Likes
Ok, so nobody’s punching holes in the hull of our sinking ship, they are merely refusing to patch them and reopening ones that were there before. I apologize for the hyperbole. 
12 Likes
crossposting:
More invisible and ai reform uk candidates BS
7 Likes
We’re in the VC hype stage now, with a lot of externality-generating solutions in search of problems. There are applications that could add societal value but they’re far outnumbered by ones that add zero or negative value (e.g. Google’s search results, or the uses on this BBS).
4 Likes
It seems that AI is driving us much faster to the “tipping point”.
BingCHAT: The environmental global warming tipping point refers to a critical threshold in the Earth’s climate system. When crossed, it triggers significant and often irreversible changes. Here are some key tipping points:
- Greenland Ice Sheet: This massive ice sheet contains enough water to raise global sea levels by over 20 feet. While its disintegration won’t be abrupt, there could come a point beyond which its collapse becomes irreversible for millennia. Recent research suggests this tipping point lies between 0.8°C and 3.2°C of warming above pre-industrial levels1.
- West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS): The WAIS is vulnerable to warming. Its collapse could raise sea levels significantly. However, the exact tipping point remains uncertain.
- Abrupt Thaw of Boreal Permafrost: As permafrost thaws, it releases stored carbon, exacerbating global warming. At 1.5°C of warming, this tipping point becomes more likely2.
- Coral Reef Die-Off: Rising ocean temperatures stress coral reefs. Beyond a certain point, they may experience rapid die-offs, affecting marine ecosystems.
- Ocean Currents and Major Forests: Nine climate system components, including ocean currents and forests, are sensitive to tipping. Some may already be at risk at the current 1.2°C warming level3.
Remember, every fraction of a degree matters. Urgent action is needed to avoid crossing these tipping points and mitigate irreversible consequences.
(BingCHAT: PLEASE KILL ME) /s
8 Likes
Thinking way out loud here: I wonder if locating all AI on the Moon — solar energy plants on lit side, with AI (properly insulated) on the -240F dark side — would be feasible. Needs lots of batteries!
2 Likes
