I’m not sure tha bashing them over their motives for building in a lower carbon manner is helping. The energy consumption of building and operating server farms is a completely separate issue, addressed by different means. Are you arguing that we should abandon the value of more powerful data processing? Higher yield from oil wells could mean less wells drilled. Please clarify your thinking on the relationship, or lack thereof, between these issues.
Alberta is very interested in attracting these data centres. There is little discussion of the resource footprint, land water etc. Some talk of small modular reactors. Not a lot of public input and a promise of fast tracking which means no environmental assessments.
Here I sit at my HP PC, which runs MS365, and wonder if the little I do will make a difference. Then I remember the drop-in-a-bucket idiom and remember that eventually, our individual drops will fill the bucket. Not only that, but if people see what I do rather than listen to what I say or read what I write, eventually, my drop in the bucket will help fill it and help make change happen.
As usual, a great article, but I can't help wonder how we are going to enlist corporations like Microsoft if we don't encourage their (small, I know) efforts in the climate emergency. Microsoft may be "greenwrapping" in one sense, but you show that they are not hiding the numbers. Would constructive criticism work? How do we encourage these guys?
Thanks for this article, and what a great term "greenwrapping" is.
"Greenwrapping," captures what Microsoft is doing perfectly.
I’m not sure tha bashing them over their motives for building in a lower carbon manner is helping. The energy consumption of building and operating server farms is a completely separate issue, addressed by different means. Are you arguing that we should abandon the value of more powerful data processing? Higher yield from oil wells could mean less wells drilled. Please clarify your thinking on the relationship, or lack thereof, between these issues.
Alberta is very interested in attracting these data centres. There is little discussion of the resource footprint, land water etc. Some talk of small modular reactors. Not a lot of public input and a promise of fast tracking which means no environmental assessments.
Here I sit at my HP PC, which runs MS365, and wonder if the little I do will make a difference. Then I remember the drop-in-a-bucket idiom and remember that eventually, our individual drops will fill the bucket. Not only that, but if people see what I do rather than listen to what I say or read what I write, eventually, my drop in the bucket will help fill it and help make change happen.
As usual, a great article, but I can't help wonder how we are going to enlist corporations like Microsoft if we don't encourage their (small, I know) efforts in the climate emergency. Microsoft may be "greenwrapping" in one sense, but you show that they are not hiding the numbers. Would constructive criticism work? How do we encourage these guys?
As AI advances it will just get worse as more people depend and rely on it.
I used to joke about a robot apocalypse, now I really wonder if there is gong to be an AI apocalypse.
Now Add 25% for tariffs.