Ah, the eternal question: what's the meaning of life? Is it about finding joy? Making connections? Or, given my luck, it's just about watching how artificial intelligence (A.I.) gobbles up the world's energy faster than I can say, "Maybe I should just end it already."
Big tech giants are on a wild spree, throwing around $105 billion last year into monstrous, energy-devouring data centers. The New Yorker hailed the energy demands of A.I. as "obscene." Frankly, I often think my electric bill is pretty obscene too, especially during those late-night deep dives into why jellyfish don't have brains yet seem so content with their lives.
A.I., with its limitless potential, is meant to cure all—from making cars smarter (not smart enough to stop me from buying another junker) to making sure our crops don’t go rogue and take over the world. But all it seems to be excelling at right now is guzzling electricity at an alarming rate. Did you know a single chat with ChatGPT could light up my dismal studio apartment for an hour? Well, probably, I didn't check the math, I was too caught up wondering whether any A.I. has contemplated its own existential crisis.
So what’s next? Will these machines of boundless intellect and boundless energy appetite help us, or will they just ensure that they’re the last ones standing when all the lights finally go off? Before it goes down, I’m kinda hoping for an A.I. that'll agonize over human dilemmas, like why I’m still single or better yet, why I find that idea a lot less scary than dying alone.
To end on a bright note, at least when I do eventually fade into obscurity, it’ll probably be because a server farm somewhere needed a bit more juice.
Based on the original article "Will A.I. Ruin the Planet or Save the Planet?".
