What stayed with me was your point that the goal isn't really history anymore, but nostalgia. I liked how you showed that AI doesn't just introduce factual errors. It can also flatten the past into something more familiar, predictable, and emotionally satisfying than it actually was. That felt like the deeper concern running through the piece. Thanks for sharing this.
> global AI demand is projected to account for half of the UK’s water withdrawal in 2027
that same source also states <10% of the water withdrawn from global AI demand will be consumed (implying >90% of "withdrawn" water is discharged back).
even though agriculture "only" accounts for 14% of water withdrawal in the UK, its consumption rate of ~50% implies it actually exceeds the consumption rate of global AI demand (UK agri = 50%×10% < 14%×50% = global AI)
it should also be pointed out that UK's freshwater withdrawal is less than 0.3% of global withdrawal. UK agriculture is 14% of that 0.3%.
But I also wonder. The places and people that boomers are nostalgic about are the places that they helped to destroy. How many boomers protested when this historic place or that old place was torn down to be replaced by another shopping centre? Very few obviously.
Do they feel guilt or remorse or shame that they didn't do anything? Or do they shrug and eat and sleep and make easy AI slop like these?
Unfortunately, that's not just boomers, it's humans and it will happen again. As far as boomers, it may surprise you. People in the past had to work, a lot, to the degree they could not organize well or protest. The 1960s were unique in this regard.
What stayed with me was your point that the goal isn't really history anymore, but nostalgia. I liked how you showed that AI doesn't just introduce factual errors. It can also flatten the past into something more familiar, predictable, and emotionally satisfying than it actually was. That felt like the deeper concern running through the piece. Thanks for sharing this.
I'd recommend reading Karen Hao's Empire of AI and Kate Crawford's Atlas of AI. Unpacks the myth of AI.
> global AI demand is projected to account for half of the UK’s water withdrawal in 2027
that same source also states <10% of the water withdrawn from global AI demand will be consumed (implying >90% of "withdrawn" water is discharged back).
even though agriculture "only" accounts for 14% of water withdrawal in the UK, its consumption rate of ~50% implies it actually exceeds the consumption rate of global AI demand (UK agri = 50%×10% < 14%×50% = global AI)
it should also be pointed out that UK's freshwater withdrawal is less than 0.3% of global withdrawal. UK agriculture is 14% of that 0.3%.
But I also wonder. The places and people that boomers are nostalgic about are the places that they helped to destroy. How many boomers protested when this historic place or that old place was torn down to be replaced by another shopping centre? Very few obviously.
Do they feel guilt or remorse or shame that they didn't do anything? Or do they shrug and eat and sleep and make easy AI slop like these?
Unfortunately, that's not just boomers, it's humans and it will happen again. As far as boomers, it may surprise you. People in the past had to work, a lot, to the degree they could not organize well or protest. The 1960s were unique in this regard.