AI & the Environment
I write a lot about AI’s effects on the environment. I’m mostly pushing back against a lot of popular misconceptions and arguing that using AI is not bad for the environment. I’m also using this to share ideas and arguments from environmentalist ethics I think are important. I’ve split these up into sections and ordered each by which posts I’d read first. You can find these posts organized as a normal Substack page here.
Start here
Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment - a cheat sheet. I’ve collected every main point I’d make into a big cheat sheet, organized by every popular argument I’m responding to.
Individual prompts
Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment. My original post on this. Most of this is also summarized in the cheat sheet.
What’s the full “hidden” climate cost of a ChatGPT prompt? Trying to tally up every possible way ChatGPT could be adding to your carbon emissions.
An example of what I consider a misleading article about AI and the environment. On the water cost of individual prompts being ridiculously small, despite many news stories implying they’re not.
Reactions to MIT Technology Review's report on AI and the environment
Data Centers
The big buildings where AI processes are run. They’re basically building-sized computers.
Do data centers only seem bad for the environment because we can see them?
Contra the UK government, please don't delete your old photos and emails to save water