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1. Baldur Bjarnason (baldur@toot.cafe)'s status on Monday, 26-Aug-2024 00:25:52 JST Baldur Bjarnason

   Self-indulgent rant:

   One reason why IMO, the case against "AI" is as cut and dried as the case against cryptocoins is that shutting those two sectors down through government action would immediately solve the household energy transition for Iceland, for example

   The maths is fairly straightforward: switching personal transportation over to electricity here would roughly double household power consumption (give or take, with the assumption that current plans to improve public transport pan out)

   • Baldur Bjarnason (baldur@toot.cafe)'s status on Monday, 26-Aug-2024 00:25:51 JST Baldur Bjarnason

     in reply to

     However, datacentres in Iceland are almost exclusively used for "AI" or crypto. You can't buy regular hosting in these centres for love or money. If you buy hosting in Iceland, odds are that the rack is in an office building in Reykjavík somewhere, not a data centre

     And those data centres use more power than Icelandic households combined

     But, instead, the plan is currently to destroy big parts of places like Þjórsárdalur valley, one of the most green and vibrant ecosystems in Iceland

     Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Baldur Bjarnason (baldur@toot.cafe)'s status on Monday, 26-Aug-2024 00:25:52 JST Baldur Bjarnason

     in reply to

     We don't have that much excess power generation. We even have to occasionally limit power delivery to heavy users

     Increasing power generation that much requires tough choices: we'd have to ruin the environment some way. We just don't have that many locations left for hydro or geothermal. Most locations that remain are popular tourist sites—destroying them would be bad for the economy—important ecosystems, or would require improvements to the grid that nobody seems to be willing to pay for

     Aral Balkan repeated this.
   • Baldur Bjarnason (baldur@toot.cafe)'s status on Monday, 26-Aug-2024 00:26:31 JST Baldur Bjarnason

     in reply to

     That’s one of the reasons why I take it personally when people use “AI” models and cryptocoins. You are being complicit in creating the demand that is threatening to directly destroy the environment I live in. None of this shit would be happening if there wasn't demand so I absolutely do blame you, personally, if you are a regular user of either of these things

     There’s a cost to these tools and you’re pushing it onto others like an asshole

     So, fuck you and the AI-generated horse you rode in on