A semi-regular reminder that there is a physical cost to AI
In related news:
1 - I recently read that fully half of Google and Amazon's reported profits for last quarter are actually just the increased valuation of their shares in Anthropic. WHAT. https://fortune.com/2026/04/30/google-amazon-ai-profits-anthropic-stake-bubble-earnings-2026/
2 - Here in Aotearoa, Datagrid has proposed a massive data center that's expected to use the equivalent of 6 percent of the *entire country's* energy usage. There's a good amount of renewable energy here, to be fair, but still--holy mackerel. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/science-and-technology/594416/nz-s-ai-data-centre-boom-who-benefits-from-the-build-out
1. Oh neat trick lol
2. WAT
I'd like to recommend a book that talks about these costs: Sustainable Content by Alisa Bonsignore. Highly recommend.
In related news:
1 - I recently read that fully half of Google and Amazon's reported profits for last quarter are actually just the increased valuation of their shares in Anthropic. WHAT. https://fortune.com/2026/04/30/google-amazon-ai-profits-anthropic-stake-bubble-earnings-2026/
2 - Here in Aotearoa, Datagrid has proposed a massive data center that's expected to use the equivalent of 6 percent of the *entire country's* energy usage. There's a good amount of renewable energy here, to be fair, but still--holy mackerel. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/science-and-technology/594416/nz-s-ai-data-centre-boom-who-benefits-from-the-build-out
1. Oh neat trick lol
2. WAT
I'd like to recommend a book that talks about these costs: Sustainable Content by Alisa Bonsignore. Highly recommend.