Yes, obviously AI is emitting way too much. It shouldn’t even be producing 0.2% of global emissions, let alone 2%. My main grievance is that no one ever talks about improving industrial and agricultural processes even though they produce around 29% of emissions and 20% of emissions respectively.
Cost-to-benefit analysis, sure. But you still need a realistic comparison of the costs side of the equation to do that.
People were whining about the energy costs of regular data centers long before AI came along.
That invites a lot of questions like is it lower carbon to have a zoom call than fly out for a meeting? Do the travel emissions of an imported tomato offset the heating emissions for a local out-of-season hothouse tomato? If I’m going to make one personal sacrifice, is it more effective to give up red meat, bike to work, or make my next holiday less far away?
Intentionally ignoring evidence is just dumb; decisions made purely on vibes are often going to be wrong.