The Multiple Costs of AI

Whatever your thoughts on AI, it is being used everywhere. While some uses are beneficial, like transcribing medical notes so that doctors can actually spend more time with their patients, others are unnecessary or even harmful. The recent country music hit “Walk My Walk” was entirely generated by AI¹, as was the “actress” Tilly Norwood².

Harmful AI has been used to scam people out of money or personal information as Candice wrote about last month. AI chatbots have been used by some people for therapy which has led to devastating harm³ for those users. People are using AI as a news source. However, in a recent study done by the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union, four of the major chatbots were asked current news cycle questions and the answers were evaluated by human journalists. They found that 18-22% of the answers were very outdated and/or completely wrong.

AI has a huge negative environmental impact as well. In 2022, the global electricity consumption of data centers that power AI was 460 terawatt-hours, which meant that AI was the 11^th largest electricity consumer in the world, using more electricity than Saudi Arabia. By 2026 it is expected to jump to 5^th place which will put it just behind Russia’s usage. In most cases, that electricity is produced by the burning of fossil fuels⁴, increasing carbon emissions. The equipment in these data centers produces tremendous amounts of heat, which if not controlled, will ruin the equipment. Keeping the servers cool requires a lot of water. Bloomberg found that many of these centers are being built in areas where there is already a high degree of stress on water resources⁵. Research done by the Food & Environment Reporting Network in conjunction with Rolling Stone found water in eastern Oregon to be highly polluted. This is an agricultural area, and nitrate-based fertilizers are used regularly. A tech giant has built a server there and uses the local water for cooling. In the process, some of the water evaporates and the remainder is sprayed over the farm fields. Unfortunately, because of the evaporation, the water coming out of the server has concentrated the nitrates. The federal limit for nitrates in drinking water is 10 parts per million, yet the water tested here was 40-70 parts per million. High nitrate levels have been tied to miscarriages, certain cancers, and kidney failure⁶ which are already being seen in this area. While this report focused on Eastern Oregon, this is potentially occurring in other areas of the country with servers as well.

So, what can we do?

Determine if your AI use is a legitimate need or just a want.
Take the time to read and write rather than using a chatbot.
Support human artists.
Use reputable human news sources for news.
If you need a therapist, find a licensed human therapist.
If you need a recipe, get a cookbook or talk to someone you know who is a good cook.
If you are tempted to use AI as a friend, consider coming to The Meetinghouse for the community found at The Market or in the various classes and offerings you can find here.

With care from all of us at The Meetinghouse,