ChatGPT Isn’t Responsible For the LA Wildfires, But It Isn’t Helping [Video]

With Los Angeles still facing the threat of wildfires, social media has been flooded with posts blaming them on ChatGPT. While this accusation is inaccurate, it’s not unfounded, and the devastation in California should give anyone who uses generative AI pause.

The ferocity of the wildfires is a result of climate change, as is the water scarcity that resulted in dry hydrants and compounded the damage. Both of these things are potentially being made worse by AI, and the more people use it, the more rapidly it will cause harm.

The True Cost of AI

Everything we do online requires energy that’s largely supplied by environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels. According to a Goldman Sachs report on data center power, a Google search consumes 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, while one ChatGPT search consumes 2.9 watt-hours.

Meanwhile, the data centers emitting all of this carbon dioxide into the air require a huge amount of water to keep the machines inside …