I fully agree that any way you cut it, LLMs are more useful than looking for hash collisions.
The trouble I have is, what determines whether AI grow to 0.5% (or whatever %) of our electricity usage is not whether the AI is a net good for humanity even considering power use. It's going to be determined by whether the AI is a net benefit for the bank account of the people with the means to make AI.
We can just as easily have a situation where AI grows to 0.5% electricity usage, is economically viable for those in control of it, while having a net negative impact for the rest of society.
As a parent said, a carbon tax would address a lot of this and would be great for a lot of reasons.
The trouble I have is, what determines whether AI grow to 0.5% (or whatever %) of our electricity usage is not whether the AI is a net good for humanity even considering power use. It's going to be determined by whether the AI is a net benefit for the bank account of the people with the means to make AI.
We can just as easily have a situation where AI grows to 0.5% electricity usage, is economically viable for those in control of it, while having a net negative impact for the rest of society.
As a parent said, a carbon tax would address a lot of this and would be great for a lot of reasons.