Last week, I tripped across a couple of posts from MIT that I thought included the clearest explanations I'd seen of the cost and *reasons* for the cost of training and using Generative AI.
Explained: Generative AI’s environmental impact
and
The multifaceted challenge of powering AI
I added those to my list of bookmarks on the topic, which I've now organized and made available at https://raindrop.io/ppival/energy-and-ai-54867175 - it's currently sitting at 21 bookmarks, but with a few of those being duplicates, or one source pointing at another. (also available as an RSS feed!)
But the point of this post is to highlight Andy Masley's A cheat sheet for why using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment. (ht to Simon Willison)
Andy has done a wonderful job simplifying the issue by comparing the cost of using (including training costs) ChatGPT to other common activities. THIS is the droid I've been looking for! It's a long read, but well worth your time if, like me, you get concerned questions about the insane environmental costs of using AI in every single presentation you make about AI. I thought this was because the youth today really do care about the environment (and they do), but after reading Andy's well-reasoned posts I realize it's because we, collectively, really don't understand how electricity is measured. I know I don't! I find it ironic that towards the end of his post, Andy writes,
It’s 3 Wh!!!!
In a lot of these conversations, I have a very strong urge to grab the other person’s shoulders and say “This is 3 Wh of energy we’re talking about!!!! We agree that’s the number! 3 Wh!!!!!! That’s so small!!!! Don’t you know this?!?!?! What happened to the climate movement????? All my climate friends used to know what 3 Wh meant!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!”
But I'll readily admit I can't look at a light bulb, or my iPad, or the Keureg in the other room and have even the remotest idea how many Wh of energy it uses!
So here are just a couple of graphics I found particularly meaningful (click to embiggen), and which I'll be including in my future presentations. Do read the post for fuller explanations and additional compelling infographics!
