Did you make an action figure avatar of yourself? Do you ask ChatGPT every time you have a question? Does Co-Pilot write your emails for you?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, did you think about the energy consumption and sustainability consequences?
We tell you how much energy a ChatGPT search uses – and as generative AI becomes increasingly commonplace, and infrastructure spring up around the world to cope with demand, we need to understand these often-invisible costs that come with it. It might even cost you a loaf from your local bakery!
Professor Adrian Friday – still not a fan of the Sustainable Development Goals – returns to talk to us about data centres, what they are, how big they are, and what happens in them; who they provide services for; their need for rare earth metals; and the need to cool and power them – and to deal with the heat they generate. It turns out data centres use more energy each year than Italy – and the demand is growing faster than the system can cope with.
We discover why Adrian’s picture (with silly hat included) is stuck on Paul’s fridge; contemplate the logistical difficulties of putting a data centre at the bottom of the sea; discuss the potential need to take an army of ninjas to change a lightbulb; realise the importance of AI to the survival of the Welsh language; and rant about the blanket default of AI across all of life.
And remember, to turn off the AI functionality of a ‘normal’ Google search, simply type ‘-ai’ at the end of your search.
A UK Parliament research briefing provides an entry point to our discussions: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10315/
And discover more about Adrian’s work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/sci-tech/about-us/people/adrian-friday
Transforming Tomorrow
Sustainability is a key consideration for any contemporary business, from biodiversity to modern slavery, seabeds to factory floors. On Transforming Tomorrow, we’ll guide you through the complex, ever-changing and often exciting (yes, really!!) world of sustainability in business. Alongside members of the Pentland Centre, academic experts, and business leaders, we cover the theory and practice of mainstreaming social and environmental sustainability into purposeful business strategy and performance.
Whether you are leading change in your business, or just want to know more about how asteroid mining may influence the future of sustainability, Transforming Tomorrow is the show for you.
Taking you through it all are your hosts, Jan and Paul, who bring insight, perspective, and not a little amount of disagreement, to all the subjects.
Join us every Monday to uncover new insights and become a little more inspired that you can make a difference in sustainability.
You can find transcripts for most episodes at: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/resources-for-education-and-practice/transforming-tomorrow-podcast/transcripts/
Send your questions on any of the issues we discuss in Transforming Tomorrow to [email protected] or fill in our feedback form here: https://forms.office.com/e/7Bw4rDiRDt
Find out more about the Pentland Centre and its work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/pentland/
https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_Transforming-Tomorrow/
Meet the Hosts
Professor Jan Bebbington is the Director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University. Jan is an expert on accounting, benchmarking (to her co-host’s annoyance), and how business and sustainability intersect.
Jan loves nature and wants to protect it – and hopes she can change the world (ideally for the better). She is also motivated to address inequality wherever it is found and especially to eliminate forced, bonded or child labour. Transforming Tomorrow is one small step on that quest.
Paul Turner is a former sports journalist who now works promoting the research activities in Lancaster University Management School – a poacher turned gamekeeper as his former colleagues would have it.
Paul has always been interested in nature and the natural environment – it comes from growing up in Cumbria – and has been a vocal proponent of the work of the Pentland Centre since joining Lancaster University. He does not like rankings and benchmarking, and is not afraid to say so.