The primary problem isn't "pollution", it's specifically greenhouse gas emissions. Is natural gas any better than coal when it comes to emissions of CO2 and other heat-trapping gases?

25 decades and still going strong! Good genes, or a pact with the devil? Also, computers have been around for a LOT longer than I ever realized... ;-)

It strikes me that all programmers using AI to help with coding are also also training AI to ultimately replace them. So I'm not surprised that the "AI bullshit" is being pushed so hard.

Also, the impacts may be quite volatile. LLMs might result in huge job displacement - until the discovery of some flaw which can't be corrected for renders them unsuitable.

Then there's the problem of models feeding off of each other's hallucinations. If that's as bad as some have suggested, retraining the models to keep them 'pure' could cost a lot. That would make their adoption less universal than AI's cheerleaders expect.

I agree entirely with your sentiment, but for this specific example I think a bit of perspective may be in order. I note that the PDF linked in TFS says "A 2025 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that global data centre electricity use reached 415 TWh in 2024, or 1.5 per cent of global electricity consumption".

At only 1.5% of the total electricity usage, there may be lower-hanging fruit to be had when it comes to electrical consumption. And maybe LLMs will give us some tools to reduce usage and emissions overall?

Part of me can't believe that I said what I just said. I really feel that SO MUCH of what Big Tech does is destructive, anti-social, and totalitarian-leaning. And I seriously doubt that so-called AI is a net benefit. So maybe I'm just looking for a reason to be a little less pessimistic.

Except for the digital identity thing, the scrapped policies listed in TFS would have cost companies money, and or engendered liability, in the name of protecting citizens. Given the current administration's stated priorities and ongoing actions, axing these policies was entirely consistent with their stroke-the-rich-and-screw-the-poor agenda.

Please don't feed the trolls! Even the ones who may not realize that they're trolling...

The robber barons are doing a truly great job of both improving the lives of all citizens and tackling fighting global warming. So let's hand them the keys to the classrooms as well, because it's not as though they have a vested interest in an over-supply of cheap labour for the code mines they salivate over.

Designers are not known for being able to resist purposely repeating past mistakes. FTFY.

it's a crap shoot:

So let's make something that we don't fully understand, whose modus operandi doubles as emergent behaviour, and then start relying on it for activities ranging from education to infrastructure. Sounds like a great idea!

P.T. Barnum said "The common man, no matter how sharp and tough, actually enjoys having the wool pulled over his eyes, and makes it easier for the puller". I think there's a lot of wishful thinking and "imagine if..." longing that has allowed for a sizable chunk of even the purveyors AI to have pulled the wool over their own eyes.

That's not to say there isn't a whole lot of wilful and calculated scammery going on in Silly Valley. But I think some of them feel that if they wish and hope and shill hard enough, they'll actually realize the dystopian vision they long for.

If I were a sentient alien dispassionate observer, I might well conclude that eliminating humans from Earth would be the most just and - ironically - the most humane way to apply these new genetic tools.

If anything like psilocybin mushrooms or peyote, you puke and the trip kicks in

And allowing your kids to play in the dirt may cause them to develop certain infections. These can be dangerous, but they're also useful in training immune systems and reducing future vulnerability. Not to mention that kind of "free range" upbringing promotes awareness, responsibility, and self-sufficiency.

I'd feel differently about Apple's walled garden if there were a half-dozen or more smartphone ecosystems. Then, if one or two were severely locked down I wouldn't care. But right now we effectively have two such ecosystems. Both are highly flawed, and both treat their customers simultaneously as dependants and as products.

But at least Google allows, (for some values of 'allows'), its Android users to install both alternative versions of the OS, and apps from just about anywhere, on the phones they paid for. Although it falls short of the freedom I'd like to see, it's freer than Apple's approach.

Are the national ID cards in those European countries exclusively smartphone based?

I understand the need for governmental verification of ID. I object to requiring a smartphone for it, as it's getting uncomfortably close to being chipped.