@Techmeme@techhub.socialA new study of 14 open-source LLMs: larger models use exponentially more energy and produce more greenhouse gas emissions, but do not always give better answers (Sachi Kitajima Mulkey/New York Times)
https://www.nytim…
@mgorny@social.treehouse.systemsTime for another "review". This one's hard. While the book was quite interesting, it required me to be quite open-minded. Still, I think it's worth mentioning:
Robert Wright — Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
The book basically focused on a thesis that both biological evolution and cultural evolution are a thing, they are directional and this directionality can be explained together using game theory — as eventually leading to more non-zero sum games.
It consists of three chapters. The first one is is focused on the history of civilization. It features many examples from different parts of the world, which makes it quite interesting. The author argues that the culture inevitably is evolving as information processing techniques improve — from writing to the Internet.
The second chapter is focused on biological evolution. Now, the argument is that it's not quite random, but actually directed towards greater complexity — eventually leading to the development of highly intelligent species, and a civilization.
The third chapter is quite speculative and metaphysical, and I'm just going to skip it.
The book is full of optimism. Capitalism creates freedom — because people are more productive when they're working for their own gain, so the free market eliminates slavery. Globalisation creates networks of interdependence that make wars uneconomic. Increased contacts between different cultures makes people more tolerant. And eventually, the humanity may be able to unite facing a common "external" enemy — the climate change.
What can I say? The examples are quite interesting, the whole theory seems self-consistent. Still, I repeatedly looked at the publication date (it's 1999), and wondered if author would write the same thing today (yes, I know I can search for his current opinions).
#books #bookstodon @…
@gevoel@mastodon.greenEven if we survive climate change, plastic may yet finish the job
https://open.substack.com/pub/theclimatehistorian/p/even-if-we-survive-climate-change?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=e4my…
@unchartedworlds@scicomm.xyz"Big tech’s selective disclosure masks AI’s real climate impact ...
"It is misleading to present a single chatbot query as if it’s the final answer on the industry’s energy, climate and water impact.
"Doing so leaves out the different types of queries: ultra-long ‘reasoning’ text, images and videos, either consciously requested, enforced or induced using sleazy interface design tricks. The companies that run so much of the world’s digital infrastructure are mandating overconsumption like a water supply authority installing thousands of open taps to juice their water delivery numbers."
– Ketan Joshi
#AI #LLMs #FossilFuel #misinformation #ClimateChange
@arXiv_physicsedph_bot@mastoxiv.pagePictorial and Documentary Guide for Research, Teaching, and Education through Astronomy, Physics, and Mathematics Pursued under the Umbrella of the United Nations (1974-2024)
Hans J. Haubold, Arak M. Mathai
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.17283
@arXiv_physicssocph_bot@mastoxiv.pageDetection, attribution, and modeling of climate change: key open issues
Nicola Scafetta
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.13994 https://arxi…
@gevoel@mastodon.greenClimate denial in orbit
https://open.substack.com/pub/talkingclimatenewsletter/p/climate-denial-in-orbit?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=e4myx
> Figs that turn CO2 into ston…
@primonatura@mstdn.social"OpenAI will not disclose GPT-5’s energy use. It could be higher than past models"
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Energy
@gevoel@mastodon.greenOil, Gas, and Other Climate Solutions (Apparently)
https://open.substack.com/pub/theclimatehistorian/p/oil-gas-and-other-climate-solutions?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=e4my…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comTrump Administration to Open Alaska Wilderness to Drilling and Mining (Lisa Friedman/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/climate/national-petroleum-reserve-alaska-trump-drilling.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/250602/p143#a250602p143
@arXiv_physicssocph_bot@mastoxiv.pageClimate2Energy: a framework to consistently include climate change into energy system modeling
Jan Wohland, Luna Bloin-Wibe, Erich Fischer, Leonhard G\"oke, Reto Knutti, Francesco De Marco, Urs Beyerle, Jonas Savelsberg
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.09531
@brichapman@mastodon.socialYou don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to stay open.
This free newsletter is a place for slow thought, not hot takes—for people who care deeply and are tired of burning out. https://substack.com/@bricchapman
@tiotasram@kolektiva.socialJust read this post by @… on an optimistic AGI future, and while it had some interesting and worthwhile ideas, it's also in my opinion dangerously misguided, and plays into the current AGI hype in a harmful way.
https://social.coop/@eloquence/114940607434005478
My criticisms include:
- Current LLM technology has many layers, but the biggest most capable models are all tied to corporate datacenters and require inordinate amounts of every and water use to run. Trying to use these tools to bring about a post-scarcity economy will burn up the planet. We urgently need more-capable but also vastly more efficient AI technologies if we want to use AI for a post-scarcity economy, and we are *not* nearly on the verge of this despite what the big companies pushing LLMs want us to think.
- I can see that permacommons.org claims a small level of expenses on AI equates to low climate impact. However, given current deep subsidies on place by the big companies to attract users, that isn't a great assumption. The fact that their FAQ dodges the question about which AI systems they use isn't a great look.
- These systems are not free in the same way that Wikipedia or open-source software is. To run your own model you need a data harvesting & cleaning operation that costs millions of dollars minimum, and then you need millions of dollars worth of storage & compute to train & host the models. Right now, big corporations are trying to compete for market share by heavily subsidizing these things, but it you go along with that, you become dependent on them, and you'll be screwed when they jack up the price to a profitable level later. I'd love to see open dataset initiatives SBD the like, and there are some of these things, but not enough yet, and many of the initiatives focus on one problem while ignoring others (fine for research but not the basis for a society yet).
- Between the environmental impacts, the horrible labor conditions and undercompensation of data workers who filter the big datasets, and the impacts of both AI scrapers and AI commons pollution, the developers of the most popular & effective LLMs have a lot of answer for. This project only really mentions environmental impacts, which makes me think that they're not serious about ethics, which in turn makes me distrustful of the whole enterprise.
- Their language also ends up encouraging AI use broadly while totally ignoring several entire classes of harm, so they're effectively contributing to AI hype, especially with such casual talk of AGI and robotics as if embodied AGI were just around the corner. To be clear about this point: we are several breakthroughs away from AGI under the most optimistic assumptions, and giving the impression that those will happen soon plays directly into the hands of the Sam Altmans of the world who are trying to make money off the impression of impending huge advances in AI capabilities. Adding to the AI hype is irresponsible.
- I've got a more philosophical criticism that I'll post about separately.
I do think that the idea of using AI & other software tools, possibly along with robotics and funded by many local cooperatives, in order to make businesses obsolete before they can do the same to all workers, is a good one. Get your local library to buy a knitting machine alongside their 3D printer.
Lately I've felt too busy criticizing AI to really sit down and think about what I do want the future to look like, even though I'm a big proponent of positive visions for the future as a force multiplier for criticism, and this article is inspiring to me in that regard, even if the specific project doesn't seem like a good one.
@arXiv_csCY_bot@mastoxiv.pageAI and Remote Sensing for Resilient and Sustainable Built Environments: A Review of Current Methods, Open Data and Future Directions
Ubada El Joulani, Tatiana Kalganova, Stergios-Aristoteles Mitoulis, Sotirios Argyroudis
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.01547
@arXiv_eessSY_bot@mastoxiv.pageThis https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.01916 has been replaced.
initial toot: https://mastoxiv.page/@arXiv_ees…
@gevoel@mastodon.greenTalking climate met Katharine Heyhoe
https://open.substack.com/pub/talkingclimatenewsletter/p/how-chinas-clean-energy-is-changing?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=e4myx
@primonatura@mstdn.social"EU open to carbon offsets on path to 2040 emissions target"
#EU #EuropeanUnion #Emissions #Climate
@primonatura@mstdn.social"EU open to carbon offsets on path to 2040 emissions target"
#EU #EuropeanUnion #Emissions #Climate
@primonatura@mstdn.social"EU open to carbon offsets on path to 2040 emissions target"
#EU #EuropeanUnion #Emissions #Climate
