Amid a once-in-a-generation public sector upgrade, a new analysis looks at the implications, opportunities and concerns for automating social care.
Published by our sister magazine, People First with AI & Tech Enabled Care includes interview and analyses from experts in both technology and social care. Case studies, detailing real world applications and use cases, also feature.
In addition to identifying the positives and opportunities to streamline and offer more effective care delivery, the report — authored by journalist Simon Guerrier — also focuses on potential risks. This includes a significant warning around the strain on resources.
‘The quick, human-like responses of AI systems are the result of processing large volumes of data at speed,’ the report explains. ‘It’s thought hat the GPT-3 large language model released in 2022 — a forerunner of the better known, more sophisticated ChatGPT — was trained on 4.5 terabytes of data, the equivalent of almost 2million books.’
The publication then goes on to explain the significant energy demands of the graphics processing units [GPUs] required to run AI systems. Environmentalists have warned this risks undoing the progress made through the global transition to renewable energy. It also identifies water as a significant issue, with vast amounts consumed in a bid to cool and maintain servers.
You can read the full report here.
As Environment Journal has reported on in the past, precise information about the exact amount of energy and water needed to fuel data centres — which are the engine room of AI — is difficult to come by. Most operators do not publicise this information, although according to the independent non-profit Foxglove, the proposed ‘hyperscale facility at Woodlands Park in Buckinghamshire could use between 4 and 19million litres of water per day.
In July, the New York Times ran an investigation into the two Newton County, Georgia residents, who found their taps had run dry after Meta — the parent company of Meta AI, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — opened a $750million data centre next door.
Image: Rod Long / Unsplash
More on Energy & Net Zero:
Carbon negative 2035: UK energy from waste sector must be unlocked
Net zero: construction professionals must educate building users after retrofit