A large majority of Canadians in a recent poll said they worry that artificial intelligence data centres will hike their power bills and harm the environment.
That’s because people are misinformed, and being intentionally lied to.
It is true that these datacenters use electricity, and in some regions of the US where power is almost completely unregulated they are seeing price increases, in Canada (other than Alberta) that simply can’t happen. BC already is auctioning only limited amounts to the industry.
Some of these data centers use water, but the new datacenters proposed in BC for example don’t use evaporative cooling and therefore don’t consume any water. A lot of the new data centers being built are like this.
Meanwhile, we don’t see protests about actual wasteful energy use/water use, or pollution.
Meat production uses significantly more water and energy, and generates far more pollution.
I’m not talking a little bit more, I’m talking HUNDREDS of times more.
Even if datacenters keep expanding like they are currently doing, estimates put total global energy use for the entire industry at 0.4% of total global energy use by 2030. That’s not just AI either, that also includes keeping Amazon and Netflix running. If you want to see the math on that, you can go back in my comment history where I did a full breakdown.
Meat production alone is something like 15% of global energy use.
Then we’ve got fossil fuel vehicles, shitty home heating systems, and more. Even tiny adjustments or improvements in those would massively offset any sort of AI usage.
People are literally trying to save the world from data center energy use and pollution by going to a protest, then driving home in their gas SUV, grabbing a steak at the grocery store, and getting home to their 20C setting on their AC. It’s fucking ridiculous.
Yeah, how dare people move around, eat food, and avoid heat stroke? The environment is the individual’s responsibility, not the responsibility of the people who made the system.
And until you’ve picked for at least 8 other causes, you’re literally a huge hypocrite. So leave the poor billionaires alone and let them pollute their communities’ air, water, and ears.
There are more environmentally friendly transport options, more environmentally friendly food options (that are actually cheaper than meat), and setting the AC to 24C doesn’t cause heatstroke and saves a ton of energy over a 20C setting. It’s getting to over 30C here today where I am, and I will likely not turn the AC on at all because I cooled the house overnight with open windows and fans, and the indoor temperature will stay below 25C anyways.
Fuck the billionaires, I don’t give a shit about them. I want a land value tax that absolutely fucks them over.
I do however want to use AI for my small business, it’s making me far more efficient and giving me more time to spend with my family.
That’s because people are misinformed, and being intentionally lied to.
It is true that these datacenters use electricity, and in some regions of the US where power is almost completely unregulated they are seeing price increases, in Canada (other than Alberta) that simply can’t happen. BC already is auctioning only limited amounts to the industry.
Some of these data centers use water, but the new datacenters proposed in BC for example don’t use evaporative cooling and therefore don’t consume any water. A lot of the new data centers being built are like this.
Meanwhile, we don’t see protests about actual wasteful energy use/water use, or pollution.
Meat production uses significantly more water and energy, and generates far more pollution. I’m not talking a little bit more, I’m talking HUNDREDS of times more.
Even if datacenters keep expanding like they are currently doing, estimates put total global energy use for the entire industry at 0.4% of total global energy use by 2030. That’s not just AI either, that also includes keeping Amazon and Netflix running. If you want to see the math on that, you can go back in my comment history where I did a full breakdown.
Meat production alone is something like 15% of global energy use.
Then we’ve got fossil fuel vehicles, shitty home heating systems, and more. Even tiny adjustments or improvements in those would massively offset any sort of AI usage.
People are literally trying to save the world from data center energy use and pollution by going to a protest, then driving home in their gas SUV, grabbing a steak at the grocery store, and getting home to their 20C setting on their AC. It’s fucking ridiculous.
It’s the epitome of Penny wise and Pound Foolish.
Yeah, how dare people move around, eat food, and avoid heat stroke? The environment is the individual’s responsibility, not the responsibility of the people who made the system.
And until you’ve picked for at least 8 other causes, you’re literally a huge hypocrite. So leave the poor billionaires alone and let them pollute their communities’ air, water, and ears.
There are more environmentally friendly transport options, more environmentally friendly food options (that are actually cheaper than meat), and setting the AC to 24C doesn’t cause heatstroke and saves a ton of energy over a 20C setting. It’s getting to over 30C here today where I am, and I will likely not turn the AC on at all because I cooled the house overnight with open windows and fans, and the indoor temperature will stay below 25C anyways.
Fuck the billionaires, I don’t give a shit about them. I want a land value tax that absolutely fucks them over.
I do however want to use AI for my small business, it’s making me far more efficient and giving me more time to spend with my family.