As generative AI develops, it poses new problems for our future, such as the concerning amount of electricity used, the replacement of jobs and the impact on our ability to think for ourselves.
I fear that one day we will eventually run out of natural resources due to generative AI. ChatGPT uses up lots of energy, a lot more than a Google search would. According to MIT News, “Researchers have estimated that a ChatGPT query consumes about five times more electricity than a simple web search.” Using Google is a better alternative, as it is better for the environment and it gives the same results.
ChatGPT also uses drinking water to cool down its data centers. According to Medium, CEO Sam Altman said “each ChatGPT query uses approximately 0.3 milliliters of water,” however, “academic research and independent studies suggest the real number could be closer to 10 milliliters per query,” the amount of water that ChatGPT uses can go unseen, which is very dangerous for our future.
These problems are closer to us than we may think. QTS, a data center company, began constructing a data center in Fayetteville in 2023. It stretches across 615 acres, and is about 7 million square feet. This can pollute the water that goes to homes nearby, making their water undrinkable. If QTS is going to construct these data centers, they should aim to build them away from homes to avoid polluting any tap water.
Once water goes through a data center, it becomes contaminated, according to Ketos, a program that has worked with the water industry since 2015. Their goal is to make water safer and more sustainable for future generations. Contaminators like biocides, corrosion inhibitors, heavy metals and total dissolved solids are added to the water. This can cause health problems such as skin irritation, kidney stones, organ stress, and harm to the respiratory system.
Generative AI is also replacing multiple careers, like animation, customer service and now acting. Tilly Norwood is an actress that’s completely made from AI. She has not yet appeared in any movies or commercials, but I believe that it will happen one day. This isn’t fair for the actors that spend so much time perfecting their skills and auditioning for roles. It’s impossible to compete with an actress that’s not real.
According to BBC News, Tilly Norwood has sparked rage within Hollywood: “That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection,” actress Emily Blunt said. If we add AI actors to movies, it will make the movies dull and unappealing.
It’s very frustrating to hear somebody say that they’ll “just ask ChatGPT.” In the future, when everybody that uses ChatGPT to do their homework for them has a job, our society will become disfunctional because nobody will be able to think for themselves. Ultimately, we will become too dependent on ChatGPT and only realize that once it’s too late.
According to IE University, “The research found a negative correlation between frequent generative AI usage and critical-thinking abilities, suggesting that individuals who rely heavily on automated tools may struggle with independent reasoning,” we should turn back to using Google and other platforms before generative AI causes us to be dependent thinkers.
Generative AI will never stop being forced on us, and it will only become more advanced. As we become more dependent on AI, our environment will become more damaged, our careers will be replaced and our brains will become wired to be dependent on AI.
