zlacker

"Nothing about the severe impact on the environment"

I literally said:

"AI data centers continue to burn vast amounts of energy and the arms race to build them continues to accelerate in a way that feels unsustainable."

AND I linked to my coverage from last year, which is still true today (hence why I felt no need to update it): https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31/llms-in-2024/#the-envi...

>>simonw+(OP)
Do you think anything should be done about this environmental impact?

Or should we just keep chugging along as though there is no problem at all?

>>jennyh+td4
I think we should continue to find ways to serve this stuff more efficiently - already a big focus of the AI labs because they like making money, and reduced energy bills = more profitable inference.

I also think we should use tax policy to provide financial incentives to reduce the environmental impact - tax breaks for renewables, tax hikes for fossil fuel powered data centers, that kind of thing.