AI - The Sky Is Falling!

The other night I had a friend over for dinner and as invariably happens, it ends up with a lively debate. She doesn't use AI... Which is probably healthy. But I spend ten minutes asking ChatGPT whether a Facebook miracle cure is bullshit (and 90% are crap!) 

She spends three hours watching cat videos and people fighting in supermarket car parks. Let's not pretend either of us is saving the rainforest. 😊  

The water usage isn’t the argument! But it is with everyone I speak too about AI.  A lot of people see headlines about AI using water and assume that every question is somehow draining a reservoir. The reality is much less dramatic. The environmental impact is real, but it's also part of a much bigger conversation about how we power and cool all the technology we use every day.

The better question is:

"Is the value we get from it worth the resources it consumes?"

That's the same question we ask about agriculture, transport, manufacturing, air conditioning, football stadiums, and just about every modern convenience. All of which uses water.

I’d say the argument should be around people. The number of authors that had their work stolen. Or musicians. Anything creative.

But the really terrifying truth is that in the newspaper yesterday (online) talked of the 80 plus jobs that are/will be defunct thanks to AI. Idiot men, thanks to them, lots of people will be out of work.

It’s okay for the Elon Musk’s of the world! It’s even okay for me who is at the end of my work life! But I think about anyone with young children; and how bleak it must seem.

Yes, AI uses resources. So does Netflix, Google, Facebook, air conditioning, online gaming, and half the things we do every day. The real question is whether the benefit is worth the cost.