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wewbull ,

So... Absolutely need to be aware of the impact of what we do in the tech sphere, but there's a few things in the article that give me pause:

Research suggests, for instance, that about 700,000 litres of water could have been used to cool the machines that trained ChatGPT-3 at Microsoft’s data facilities.

  1. "Could". More likely it was closed loop.
  2. Water isn't single use, so even if true how does this big number matter.

What matter is the electrical energy converted to heat. How much was it and where did that heat go?

Moreover, when significant energy resources are allocated to tech-related endeavours, it can lead to energy shortages for essential needs such as residential power supply. Recent data from the UK shows that the country’s outdated electricity network is holding back affordable housing projects.

Can you say non sequitur ?

The outdated network holding back housing is that it doesn't go to the right places with the capacity needed for the houses. Not that OpenAIUK is consuming so much that there's no power left. To use a simily, there's plenty of water but the pipes aren't in place.

This article is well intentioned FUD, but FUD none the less.

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