Discussion
"But this other use of computers also wastes resources" isn't the gotcha some think it is.
(I , for one was already fully opposed to big tech's hostile takeover of our lives when they called it "smart", not "AI". In fact, even before that.
and aware that all our high tech gadgets come with high hidden & externalized costs.
That doesn't justify piling the pile of waste even higher.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk or whatever)
"You're using computers, that's bad too"
I don't have a smug answer to that.
It's a strawman. It can't be used to justify your promotion of the daylight robbery known as "AI". Yet ...
there's a kernel of truth in that particular strawman.
That has to be addressed in its own right.
I'm using a computer. I've even bought computers without thinking adequately about the true costs.
Of course that's bad, and I'd like us all to reduce this dependency on something resource-wise expensive we can't even make locally, not make it worse.
I mean,
the excitement about "new models" looks much the same as the excitement about new and more performant hardware.
But the latter, up to a point (mid 2010s, when the data rush started) at least was based on valid engineering (as well as resource extractionism).
The former is just daylight robbery ... of everyone, yourself included.
"But this other use of computers also wastes resources"?
Yes, then maybe we should overthink that as well.