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Question about the actual energy cost of training big AI models
I mean, I was reading a report from the University of Massachusetts Amherst that said training a single large NLP model can create over 600,000 pounds of carbon emissions. That's like the lifetime output of five cars. Maybe it's just me, but everyone talks about AI efficiency without mentioning this massive upfront environmental hit. Has anyone seen solid numbers on what companies are doing to offset this?
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janah831mo ago
...and honestly, i feel like i'm part of the problem by even using AI tools. like my whole internet footprint is just me asking chatgpt to roast my typos. but yeah, the carbon thing is wild. i saw that same umass report and my jaw dropped. five cars worth of emissions for one model? thats like me driving to the store for milk but accidentally circling the earth a few times.
the lack of transparency on offsets bugs me too. companies love to brag about being "carbon neutral" but half the time it's just buying cheap credits from a tree they planted in their ceo's backyard.
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