…There’s no cost to this right? It’s Google’s data centres streaming it. And they do that for free. Amazing!
No cost to it at all.
Google’s power use is up 27% and has doubled in 4 years, and water use is up 28%, but emissions are down by 12%.
So that’s good, right? No problem
https://www.rcrwireless.com/20250704/ai-infrastructure/data-center-energy
…No problem with GPUs being manufactured in volumes greater than ever, to have a server life of a few years at most https://mastodon.social/@urlyman/115552845413535621
No problem with basing all this on exceedingly rare quartz deposits that get flooded https://mastodon.social/@urlyman/113236845312214531
No problem with building out entire economies dependent on all this not only standing up but *growing* https://mastodon.social/@urlyman/113998114844279545
…I suppose I’m meandering into a “Where is web dev going?” train of thought.
I think we’ll see a greater realisation of the need for #frugalComputing and more efforts to *look* like we’re taking it seriously, while continuing to leverage that which is most egregiously unsustainable (like I’m doing).
But mostly, as the realisation that none of this can stand up seeps more into collective awareness, we’ll see a “Fuck it, go crazy while we can, let’s be Nero” vibe
…And then, when we’ve really burnt things to a crisp, then the real work of frugal computing will actually begin.
When’s that?
Fuck knows.
…”Fuck it, let’s go crazy” postscript:
As Miguel writes, there’s a new bubble inflating: quantum computing https://tldr.nettime.org/@remixtures/115785648445939357
To which I anticipate something like “yes, but quantum computing will be radically more efficient”.
Some further thoughts…
…Efficiency, in isolation, is a terrible metric. Efficient *for what* is really vital. And in an economy addicted to growth it’s efficiency with which to *do more*. (William Stanley Jevons rang from the 19th Century to say ‘Hi’.)
But ok, let’s isolate for a bit…
…“The core of a superconducting quantum computer needs to be at about 15 millikelvin—a temperature so low that even the tiniest vibrations can generate heat and disrupt the system. Maintaining this extreme cold requires constant refrigeration.”
“This is achieved using dilution refrigerators, which are complex machines that cool quantum processors to near absolute zero.
A single dilution refrigerator can consume up to 25 kW of power”
https://patentpc.com/blog/quantum-computing-energy-consumption-how-sustainable-is-it-latest-data
@urlyman It's giving vibes of folks hanging round Naples in the 18th Century expecting Vesuvius to go off and partying anyway.
