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People on Lemmy love to cry AI IS BURNING THE PLANNET but have they ever really looked at the numbers?
- 1 kg Beef = 60kg CO2 - source
- 1000km Return flight = 314kg CO2 - source
- 1 Bitcoin transaction = 645kg of CO2 - source
- 1000 AI prompts = 3kg of CO2 - source including training
I'm a strong advocate for privacy, and I myself am Anti generative AI in many ways, but can we please stop shouting that AI IS BRUNING THE PLANNET, it weakens our position to push back at actual issues with AI like privacy.
Here is a detailed breakdown debunking that AI is destroying the planet: https://andymasley.substack.com/p/a-cheat-sheet-for-conversations-about
What I think this fails to account for is the most energy intensive part of the models is not interacting with them but training them, which uses exponentially more energy.
Edit: I read over your source more carefully and I don't think the argument of "AI might be using 10 times less energy than we think" is an actual argument of any sort. I might have a golden pony who radiates pure love and shits chocolate donuts, prove I don't.
Here's facts, data centers are ramping up to train and operate AI and making water near their locations inaccessible source
Not to mention Musk's gas turbines source
The carbon output from any form of large scale industry is going to have an impact but a larger issue for me is depletion of resources and a frenzied mania surrounding some imaginary 'race' to beat others at a technology which is yet to turn a profit for anyone but Nvidia