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dgerard@awful.systems

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Well, AI made our search unusable dogshit. But AI also made us miss our climate goals, so (apnews.com)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by dgerard@awful.systems to c/techtakes@awful.systems

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[–] self@awful.systems 118 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (54 children)

there’s this type of reply guy on fedi lately who does the “well actually querying LLMs only happens in bursts and training is much more efficient than you’d think and nvidia says their gpus are energy-efficient” thing whenever the topic comes up

and meanwhile a bunch of major companies have violated their climate pledges and say it’s due to AI, they’re planning power plants specifically for data centers expanded for the push into AI, and large GPUs are notoriously the part of a computer that consumes the most power and emits a ton of heat (which notoriously has to be cooled in a way that wastes and pollutes a fuckton of clean water)

but the companies don’t publish smoking gun energy usage statistics on LLMs and generative AI specifically so who can say

[–] maol@awful.systems 12 points 4 months ago (8 children)

I live in Ireland and these companies keep trying to build data centres here even though they are using way too much of our energy as is :)) From an Irish environmental org:

A few years ago when researching new gas power stations in Ireland, we noticed that many of these developments were being proposed alongside another type of infrastructure: data centres. [...] As of June 2023, there are 82 operational data centres in Ireland, with another 14 under construction. Additionally, 40 data centres have had planning permission approved with another 12 awaiting a decision. [...] Data centres account for 18% of all electricity use in Ireland [...] This is putting unprecedented strain on the electricity grid, with grid operator Eirgrid estimating that data centres may account for up to 27% of Ireland’s electricity demand by 2028. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) in Ireland has noted a risk of rolling electricity blackouts...

[–] match@pawb.social 5 points 4 months ago (3 children)

I thought the Irish were always pretty good at kicking out colonialist efforts. Maybe just try the old reliable approach.

[–] maol@awful.systems 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Our entire economy since the 80s has been reliant on neo-colonial relationships with multinational companies unfortunately

[–] match@pawb.social 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

that is unfortunate because Ireland was my backup plan for if the US falls (half of my grandparents were citizens)

[–] maol@awful.systems 7 points 4 months ago

Yeah imo Ireland has never had a left-wing government, we tend towards right-populist/right centrist/neoliberal. "Stable but shit" is how I described it to my brother just this hour gone while discussing politics. We're currently seeing the beginnings of an organized racist right as well

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