Dorian.

Sincere apologies for change of subject on your news item post.
I knew you were very knowledgeable in the I.T. world, so wanted to pose a question on a news item on TV last night.

On Sunday night TV (7 Spotlight) there was a report on the proliferation of A.I. data centres in Australia (and China and the U.S.).
Mainly in the Southern Highlands of NSW. Australia is an attractive stable destination for these things. Plenty of power they say!!!!
The report was they use massive amounts of power and can be noisy with a constant grind and buzz.
The one in the highlands is to be surrounded by 3 gas fired stations to generate sufficient power.
There are concerns outputs could affect local cattle production.

Funny how the government quietly passes them to be built, but not surrounding solar or wind eh?
These new A.I. data centres suck enormous amounts of electricity and generate heat.
China use coal fired stations to supply theirs, giving them a winning edge in the A.I. race.

The U.S. billionaires club are building these things at a rate of knots.
It seems as though climate change only applies to the poor, but not to the billionaire's???

I bet the Australian mint doesn't generate much power to make banknotes they want to rid us of........

It is predicted by 2050 A.I. Data Centres will require 15% of the grid.
Geez, there won't be a spare square metre of farmland left in Australia without a flamin' solar panel on it.

Why is it so China can build more coal fired gas stations and little 'ol Australia cuts back on emissions???
Also, how much damage do these hero billionaires club do to the stratosphere every time they launch some flaming rocket into space each week?

The same old same old, one rule for one, one rule for the rest of us.....

Fair statement.

The greed from the super rich seems to be a rolling catastrophe but they have unlimited power though.
15% of the grid in the future takes a lot of private usage off the market. I guess we minions just pay more for power - again.
I forgot the back up power for these 24 hour power hungry massive plants is diesel.

It all appears very hypocritical for government and others to push climate change, then pander to the powers of the rich and powerful?

The upcoming speech from our PM on A.I. and it's future in Australia will be interesting.

Frankly, I don't see the need for all this A.I. rubbish, we have done pretty well up until now.
As we know though, we are not the ones to alter it in reality.
The rich and powerful seem to dictate more now than at any other time in history?

Ineedabiggerboat wrote:

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The AI bubble is inevitably going to burst for two reasons. Power generation will not be able to keep up. Whole communities will push back because of that, demand of water for cooling and the pollution that gas and diesel powered systems generate. Open source and frontier models fighting it out, token usage drastically falling in price oh, and a push back on so much wealth and influence concentrated in the hands of two few people. I believe in capitalism but not at this scale.

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Rampant, mercenary capitalism, as exemplified in Trump's America, breeds socialism.

https://www.techechelon.com/post/69-of-u-s-workers-back-ai-sovereign-wealth-fund-as-tech-layoffs-surpass-140-000

A majority of American workers now support forcing AI companies to cede ownership stakes to a public fund, reflecting deepening anxiety over technology-driven job cuts that have already claimed more than 140,000 positions across the U.S. tech sector this year.

The poll arrives weeks after Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would grant the public a 50% stake in the largest AI companies operating in the United States. "It would guarantee that the economic benefits generated by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us -- not simply to make the richest people in the world even richer," Sanders said in a statement last month.