Wayne’s Word – consumption

It’s a little nod to Wayne’s World, but instead of ‘party time, excellent’ (if you are aware of the cult nineties classic) I will be diving into one WORD each day. It could be something I learned, something bizarre that happened, a favourite word that I have rediscovered or just a thought that won’t leave me alone.

If you’re joining in on today’s word, feel free to use this tag to connect your post to the series: #WaynesWord

Today’s word is CONSUMPTION.

When we hear the word consumption, we might think of eating or drinking but today, I want to highlight a quieter kind of consumption, the one hidden in Artificial Intelligence. To be honest I have only learned of this today and I was completely mind blown! 🤯

Training and running large AI systems uses VAST amounts of electricity. A single model can consume as much energy as hundreds of homes in a year. There is also the consumption of water whereby MILLIONS of litres are used to keep data centres cool, all so our queries, images, and clever answers arrive to us in seconds.

This is the consumption that we do not taste or see, but it leaves its mark on the grid, on the climate and on the rivers that feed those servers.

So next time we hear the word consumption, maybe we can think not just of food or drink, but of the invisible appetite of our digital world. It begs the question, what will the future hold for Mother Earth with all this energy consumption?