AI's Energy Demands Are Out of Control. Welcome to the Internet's Hyper-Consumption Era
5 months, 4 weeks ago

AI's Energy Demands Are Out of Control. Welcome to the Internet's Hyper-Consumption Era

Wired  

Right now, generative artificial intelligence is impossible to ignore online. Silicon Valley soon became obsessed with generative AI, and nearly two years later, AI tools powered by large language models permeate the online user experience. “In the back end, these algorithms that need to be running for any generative AI model are fundamentally very, very different from the traditional kind of Google Search or email,” says Sajjad Moazeni, a computer engineering researcher at the University of Washington. Even though Google’s total energy consumption doubled from 2019 to 2023, Corina Standiford, a spokesperson for the company, said it would not be fair to state that Google’s energy consumption spiked during the AI race. The suppliers that Google blames include the manufacturers of servers, networking equipment, and other technical infrastructure for the data centers—an energy-intensive process that is required to create physical parts for frontier AI models.

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History of this topic

In 2024, artificial intelligence was all about putting AI tools to work
1 week, 1 day ago

In 2024, artificial intelligence was all about putting AI tools to work

LA Times  

If 2023 was a year of wonder about artificial intelligence, 2024 was the year to try to get that wonder to do something useful without breaking the bank. There was a “shift from putting out models to actually building products,” said Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton University computer science professor and co-author of the new book “AI Snake Oil: What Artificial …

In 2024, artificial intelligence was all about putting AI tools to work
1 week, 2 days ago

In 2024, artificial intelligence was all about putting AI tools to work

Associated Press  

If 2023 was a year of wonder about artificial intelligence, 2024 was the year to try to get that wonder to do something useful without breaking the bank. There was a “shift from putting out models to actually building products,” said Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton University computer science professor and co-author of the new book “AI Snake Oil: What Artificial …

How much more water and power does AI computing demand? Tech firms don’t want you to know
4 months, 2 weeks ago

How much more water and power does AI computing demand? Tech firms don’t want you to know

LA Times  

Every time someone uses ChatGPT to write an essay, create an image or advise them on planning their day, the environment pays a price. Yet someone using ChatGPT or another artificial intelligence application has no way of knowing how much power their questions will consume as they are processed in the tech companies’ enormous data centers. “If we had that …

Editorial: Generative AI is an energy hog and that could hurt progress fighting climate change
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Editorial: Generative AI is an energy hog and that could hurt progress fighting climate change

LA Times  

Artificial intelligence is one of the world’s fast-growing technologies, with Google, Microsoft, Meta, Apple and others rolling out generative AI models. It’s also one of the most energy-intensive technologies, and that is raising alarm that AI data centers’ thirst for electricity will increase planet-warming emissions and strain the electrical grid. Data centers, or large buildings filled with computer servers, already …

AI brings soaring emissions for Google and Microsoft, a major contributor to climate change
5 months, 4 weeks ago

AI brings soaring emissions for Google and Microsoft, a major contributor to climate change

NPR  

AI brings soaring emissions for Google and Microsoft, a major contributor to climate change toggle caption Josh Edelson/Getty Images Researcher Jesse Dodge did some back-of-the-napkin math on the amount of energy AI chatbots use. “And they're willing to pour a ton of resources into that, including things like training AI systems on bigger and bigger data centers all the way …

AI driving rise in Google’s greenhouse gas emissions, says company
6 months ago

AI driving rise in Google’s greenhouse gas emissions, says company

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have …

Big Tech’s Latest Obsession Is Finding Enough Energy
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Big Tech’s Latest Obsession Is Finding Enough Energy

Live Mint  

HOUSTON—Every March, thousands of executives take over a downtown hotel here to reach oil and gas deals and haggle over plans to tackle climate change. But most everyone agreed the data centers needed to advance AI will require so much power they could strain the power grid and stymie the transition to cleaner energy sources. Former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest …

Generative AI Learned Nothing From Web 2.0
1 year ago

Generative AI Learned Nothing From Web 2.0

Wired  

If 2022 was the year the generative AI boom started, 2023 was the year of the generative AI panic. The US Federal Elections Commission is looking into deceptive campaign ads, Congress is calling for oversight into how AI companies develop and label training data for their algorithms, and the European Union passed its new AI Act with last-minute tweaks to …

Google’s Gemini Is the Real Start of the Generative AI Boom
55 years ago

Google’s Gemini Is the Real Start of the Generative AI Boom

Wired  

The history of artificial intelligence has been punctuated by periods of so-called “AI winter,” when the technology seemed to meet a dead end and funding dried up. Google’s release of Gemini, claimed to be a fundamentally new kind of AI model and the company’s most powerful to date, suggests that a new AI winter isn’t coming anytime soon. Google had …

Power-hungry: AI bots like ChatGPT will have higher energy demands than many countries by 2027
1 year, 2 months ago

Power-hungry: AI bots like ChatGPT will have higher energy demands than many countries by 2027

Firstpost  

AI is already very resource intensive. However, AI is only going to get more power and resource hungry in the future According to recent research published in the journal Joule, the energy consumption associated with artificial intelligence applications is projected to surpass the annual electricity requirements of entire nations like the Netherlands, Argentina, and Sweden by the year 2027. For …

As Google turns 25, CEO Sundar Pichai pushes for search and AI evolution
1 year, 4 months ago

As Google turns 25, CEO Sundar Pichai pushes for search and AI evolution

The Hindu  

Just as Google prepares to officially turn 25 on September 27, CEO Sundar Pichai affirmed search would continue to be the core of the company’s mission, and that there was much more to be done with it and AI. As Google also races to develop Bard, it has been accused of stealing personal data and creative works from users for …

Tech’s carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly?
1 year, 4 months ago

Tech’s carbon footprint: can AI revolutionize responsibly?

The Hindu  

Across the globe, data servers are humming, consuming both megawatts and precious natural resources to bring life to our digital world. "Pandora's box is open," said Arun Iyengar, CEO of Untether AI, a highly specialized chip-making company that strives to make AI more energy efficient. The transformation of the world's data servers to AI readiness is already well underway, in …

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