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The Consequences of AI
The Consequences of AI
Elena Nguyen, Y7
The Consequences of AI
FIS is known for being a sustainable school, and I think that is very important. AI doesn’t come from the clouds. It's stored in a physical place in data centers, and so many people use it to the point that it heats up really fast, resulting in the need to cool it down with water. (After it evaporates, it becomes chemically contaminated and not safe to use anymore). AI uses fossil fuel based electricity, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. It has created 5 million tons of e-waste (causing global warming, major weather changes and climate change)!
AI using water is the biggest problem and it's actually very bad when you understand how much it uses. Each prompt needs 0.25 milliliters of water (or 5 drops) which doesn't seem like a lot, until you realize 1.7 million prompts are generated, per minute. With that amount of energy used, it means you can power a petrol car to run for 765 kilometers. AI uses up to approximately 550 billion litres of water per year! Here’s a picture for you to understand:
Sometimes, AI needs to be trained first, and that also consumes a lot of water. It is reported that Meta’s model while in training (LLaMA-3) used up to 22 million litres of water.
Tons of water is being wasted, whereas it should be used for schools, countries, people in need (for example, Sierra Leone lacks clean drinking water), humans, animals, hygienic purposes, and growing our food. The amount of water wasted is very concerning, and we have multiple problems on Earth we have to deal with already!
There are also multiple other problems that branch out with its consequences, so I know that it feels small, but please don’t use AI as a shortcut to do your homework, and just research! A lot of people use AI frequently, unaware of the consequences, so spread awareness!
The Earth is dying rapidly, and in order to have hope that we can help conserve it, we need to take action! Whether it's just avoiding its use or telling people. Every little thing counts!
Sources:
Hope and Chance in Maths
Hope and Chance in Maths
Walter Oh, Y12A
Hope and Chance in Maths
“If you hope for something to happen, this hope drives you forward so that the event happens, even if there are low probabilities and chances are slim. But sometimes, switching might give your hopes greater success.” - Walter
Hope, in the perspective of a mathematician, links to probabilities. Probability is literally, the chances, or hopes, that an event will occur. That is, at least, the basics of the mathematics behind it. However, the thing is, these chances can change in some scenarios. Specifically, I am referring to the Monty Hall problem. Let’s dive into the problem and the reason why it occurs, mathematically.
The problem goes like this. Let’s say there are three doors, and behind one of them, there is a prize. For instance, a very fancy car. Behind the other two, there is nothing. There is a game host, who knows where the prize is. You, as the participant, randomly chose a door, since you have no information about where the car is. Then, the host deliberately opens one of the remaining two doors, and shows that there is no car behind that door. The host now gives you an option, a choice, to switch. You can also stay at the same door. The question is, do you switch?
To many people, it seems pretty obvious that whether or not you switch, the probability is the same, since you have two choices, the one that you chose from the start, or the one that is left. So each of them should have a ½ probability each, right? Well, funnily enough, switching has a higher probability of winning the prize. But why?
Proof Number 1:
By switching, you are getting information upon two doors, rather than one. Basically, if you choose to switch, you are choosing the two doors that weren’t your choice at the start. So, the probability of you winning the prize if you stay is ⅓, while if you switch, you have a ⅔ chance of winning.
Proof Number 2:
The probability of you picking the prize at the start is ⅓. If you don’t switch, this probability will not change. The sum of all probabilities is 1, so the other choice has a probability of 1 - ⅓ = ⅔ chance of having the prize.
Proof Number 3:
You can also check every case, by showing them in a table, as shown in the image below. It clearly shows the cases one by one, showing the result of how switching leads to a win for 6 cases out of all the 9 cases.
So next time, when you are hoping that something will occur, maybe think about the potential success that you might have with other choices.
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