AI, and cryptocurrency will create energy-problems!
Is it really a good idea to force AI (Artificial Intelligence) in all industries, when it is already clear that AI and Cryptocurrency are energy guzzlers?
The giant Google in one such example, noting has been said that AI was accounted for 10%-15% of the company’s total electricity consumption in 2021. But as AI technology continues to expand, only Google’s energy consumption could start to be on the scale of a small country in 2023.
Cryptocurrency also has an energy consumption problem. Bitcoin alone is estimated to consume 127 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year — more than many countries, including Norway.
In the United States, cryptocurrency activity is estimated to emit from 25 to 50 million tons of CO2 each year, on par with the annual emissions from diesel fuel used by US railroads.
Christopher Alexander, the chief analytics officer of Pioneer Development Group, has told Fox News Digital the demands by AI, will be similar to the birth of Bitcoin mining, arguing developers will have to get creative with the way they use resources.
The recent rise in the capabilities and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened up a number of debates about the technology’s possible drawbacks; from students cheating at exams, to machines replacing humans at work, and even the risk of the total destruction of the human race.
Another potential pitfall of AI could be on the horizon, with experts warning the computing power needed to run the necessary algorithms and machine learning processes could contribute to climate change due to the amount of energy it uses.
Some Bitcoin miners may not have direct control over their electricity usage if their mining computers are contracted out to larger data centers. This, combined with the fact that miners are not longstanding businesses with well-established credit, may make it difficult to dictate their electricity supply. In order to drive further renewable energy generation, rather than take credit for an existing portion of renewable capacity, Bitcoin miners must contract renewable energy directly.
The market capitalization of the almost 19,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation is currently around $1.75 trillion — about the same as the gross domestic product of Italy, the world’s eighth largest economy.
The Future of Cryptocurrency and AI: Can Gold Go Green?
We all know that Cryptocurrency and Artificial Intelligence is here to stay. But we all should know that AI is born from earlier programmed computers. It is after all only a tool to speed up the developments in the world, but is this necessary?
Aren’t there more important areas to use this enormous energy consumption on?
In the end, it is still the ordinary consumer who will have to pay, through increased electricity bills.
All opinions are welcome, from my readers.
Thanks for reading my blog.
#Windmush / #Curtbergsten
18-10-2023
