‘How dare technology keep doing stuff?’ is a deeply weird criticism.
This isn’t like crypto bullshit, where finance-bro jackasses did databases in the least efficient possible way. We’re pushing the boundaries of results-driven artificial intelligence, modeled on how biological brains work. Is it miraculous? Not exactly. But it’s answering a lot of questions that were exciting forty-odd years ago and suddenly exploded into relevance due to parallel computing… intended for video games.
Bemoaning the last year-ish of outright witchcraft, based on the up-front costs of training models that will run on a phone, is a perspective that seems more performative than plausible.
I deeply dislike the line of argument that goes “we shouldn’t bother reducing our personal energy consumption because 100 corporations produce 70% of greenhouse gases” or similar arguments. Of course we should. Because it’s the right thing to do.
But it’s also true: those 100 corporations and their ilk absolutely promote a false narrative that personal responsibility is the solution to climate change, in order to prevent climate regulation that might harm their bottom line.
And frankly, I think that’s what’s going on here with panic over AI power consumption. Corporate lobbyists and PR creating yet another distraction to slow the course of climate regulation and guilting ordinary people for doing ordinary things in the process.
‘How dare technology keep doing stuff?’ is a deeply weird criticism.
This isn’t like crypto bullshit, where finance-bro jackasses did databases in the least efficient possible way. We’re pushing the boundaries of results-driven artificial intelligence, modeled on how biological brains work. Is it miraculous? Not exactly. But it’s answering a lot of questions that were exciting forty-odd years ago and suddenly exploded into relevance due to parallel computing… intended for video games.
Bemoaning the last year-ish of outright witchcraft, based on the up-front costs of training models that will run on a phone, is a perspective that seems more performative than plausible.
I deeply dislike the line of argument that goes “we shouldn’t bother reducing our personal energy consumption because 100 corporations produce 70% of greenhouse gases” or similar arguments. Of course we should. Because it’s the right thing to do.
But it’s also true: those 100 corporations and their ilk absolutely promote a false narrative that personal responsibility is the solution to climate change, in order to prevent climate regulation that might harm their bottom line.
And frankly, I think that’s what’s going on here with panic over AI power consumption. Corporate lobbyists and PR creating yet another distraction to slow the course of climate regulation and guilting ordinary people for doing ordinary things in the process.