The Bifidus Effect or How I Learned to Moderate My Usage of AI
[Article written on October 3, 2023 by Stephanie Rebecca Renverseau with the support of the Open AI GPT-4 algorithm for about 20%. Images created with Adobe Express, all rights reserved, 2023].
Have you ever used Artificial Intelligence? Whether for work, art, or just for fun? If you are already an enthusiast, I encourage you to continue your exploration, always responsibly and with insight. For others, those who are hesitant or have never tried, I suggest you read my previous article before starting this story…
Today, there are people who use AI, a little, a lot, passionately! For those who have not yet taken the step, this may be due to several reasons such as: lack of knowledge, ethical fears, privacy issues, technological barriers, resistance to change, intellectual property issues or even environmental impact. And precisely, let’s talk about this last element!
Recently, I came across a study titled “The Carbon Emissions of Writing and Illustrating Are Lower for AI than for Humans”, which explains that the carbon emissions associated with an AI writing a page of text are 130 to 1500 times lower than those of a human performing the same task. Similarly, an AI generating an image emits 310 to 2900 times less CO2 compared to a human.
This study highlights the potential of AI to perform certain major tasks with much lower emission levels than humans. Amazing, isn’t it?
Amazing AND worrying at the same time because I don’t know about you, but it reminds me of bifidus. Do you remember? In the 1960s-1970s, to meet the growing demand for healthier food products, yogurt manufacturers began to introduce low-fat and fat-free dairy products… bifidus-based yogurts!!!
The result? The consumption of so-called dietetic yogurts drastically increased! People started to consume them in (too?) large quantities, thinking they could eat as much as they wanted and that it would be without consequences, as they were less caloric. This is called the rebound effect.
In short, why does this concern us today? Understand well, this overconsumption of dietetic yogurts is not so different from the one that awaits us with the use of generative AI. Just as you ate more bifidus yogurts (not me, I’m lactose intolerant…) on the pretext that they were “dietetic”, you will be tempted to use AI excessively because of its ease of use and its apparent low impact on the environment (at least less than initially expected).
However, just as eating too many dietetic yogurts can be harmful to our health, excessive use of AI can also have consequences, especially on our ecological footprint.
Moreover, as the study points out: AI is not a universal solution for all human tasks and its use must be balanced with social, ethical considerations. And don’t forget that AI is just a tool, what it becomes depends solely on what we do with it.
I therefore invite you to consume AI in a responsible and reasoned manner. It’s not just a question of technology, but also of ethics and environmental impact.
And if you don’t know where to start, I’d be delighted to help you.
See you soon.
[Article written on October 3, 2023 by Stephanie Rebecca Renverseau with the support of the Open AI GPT-4 algorithm for about 20%. Images created with Adobe Express, all rights reserved, 2023].
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