Mon
Jun 24 2024
06:34 am
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an energy hog
By: bizgrrl

As has been mentioned here previously,

"crypto has a dirty little secret that is very relevant to the real world: it uses a lot of energy. How much energy? Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, currently consumes an estimated 150 terawatt-hours of electricity annually — more than the entire country of Argentina, population 45 million.

Now it is becoming known that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also an energy hog.

..."the voracious electricity consumption of artificial intelligence is driving an expansion of fossil fuel use — including delaying the retirement of some coal-fired plants."
...
As the tech giants compete in a global AI arms race, a frenzy of data center construction is sweeping the country. Some computing campuses require as much energy as a modest-sized city, turning tech firms that promised to lead the way into a clean energy future into some of the world’s most insatiable guzzlers of power. Their projected energy needs are so huge, some worry whether there will be enough electricity to meet them from any source.
...
A ChatGPT-powered search, according to the International Energy Agency, consumes almost 10 times the amount of electricity as a search on Google. One large data center complex in Iowa owned by Meta burns the annual equivalent amount of power as 7 million laptops running eight hours every day, based on data shared publicly by the company.

Hmmm... What now? Should the Bitcoin and AI companies be allowed to use so much of our energy resources? Will our electricity rates go up in order to support these efforts?

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bizgrrl's picture

AI also uses a lot of our

Submitted by bizgrrl on Wed, 2024/09/18 - 9:34am.

AI also uses a lot of our water resources.

The Washington Post worked with researchers at the University of California, Riverside to understand how much water and power OpenAI’s ChatGPT, using the GPT-4 language model released in March 2023, consumes to write the average 100-word email.
...
A 100-word email generated by an AI chatbot using GPT-4 once requires 519 milliliters of water, a little more than 1 bottle (2 cups).
...
Water usage depends on the data center’s location.
Milliliters of water required for AI chatbots using GPT-4 to generate a 100-word email by location of data center.
Washington = 1468 ml (around 6 cups)
Illinois = 464 ml (around 2 cups)
Texas = 235 ml (around 1 cup)

Moon's picture

AI energy use

Submitted by Moon on Thu, 2024/09/19 - 3:51pm.

Remember, it is the people using the AI applications that are consuming the energy, not the companies. That is a bit like blaming Kroger for the water usage required to irrigate the farms that produce the grocery products we buy.

bizgrrl's picture

Not exactly. Sort of like

Submitted by bizgrrl on Fri, 2024/09/20 - 6:17am.
(in reply to Moon)

Not exactly. Sort of like soda pop, there is not a huge demand for AI that isn't created by the AI companies.

Moon's picture

Sort of like soda pop..l

Submitted by Moon on Fri, 2024/09/20 - 8:38pm.
(in reply to bizgrrl)

Better analogy

fischbobber's picture

No opt out. AI is slavery.

Submitted by fischbobber on Fri, 2024/09/20 - 7:37am.

Simple fact of the matter is AI is an unwanted forced cost on consumers. It is theft. It is a mandatory diversion of a resource (cash) needed to survive in industrialized society by replacing humans with machines that, so far, are not near as efficient nor proficient at decision making as humans. AI is literally mandatory theft by corporations of consumer cash. It's a tax by corporations to consumers on survival.

fischbobber's picture

AI mandatory taxing and tariffs on China

Submitted by fischbobber on Fri, 2024/09/20 - 9:42am.
(in reply to fischbobber)

This economic policy proposed by Trump would be a disaster for American citizens. It's theft from the citizens to advance political goals. An over the board increase in consumer costs will lead once again to runaway inflation, like the fake economists have been trying to sell for years, simply to advance political goals. It no wonder people look look at these sorts of plans and say stuff like, "This looks like a fascist move to use the economy to terrorize the citizens." How much closer to bankruptcy should the government drive the average citizen to? Half the country is two weeks away from homelessness.How how they supposed to pay these extra costs which come with no benefits? If you spend money you earn, you should be able to spend it as one sees fit. This is just stealing from people without the resources to defend themselves.

Think homelessness is bad now? Let Corporate America control AI. The majority of Americans will be on the edge or in homelessness. These are the same people that managed us to the worst covid response in America

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