Clean energy creation
Environmental pollution reduction
Human wellbeing
Rather than wars and data centres for processing of AI uselessness, The majority of resources that lay outside of daily survival should be pushed into these three areas. Clean energy because energy consumption ultimately will continually go up and it is a huge resource stumbling block for design. Pollution reduction (including what is already in the environment) because regardless of whether climate change is man-made or not, we should engineer our environment to be supportive of our best. And then, Human wellbeing, as ultimately that is the most important aspect of our species, bar none.
It saddens me that so much of our effort is put into nonsense that doesn't matter, that doesn't improve our lives, that doesn't take us forward as a species to open up more potential, more possibility, more of our best. Instead, we spend our resources on not only holding the status quo, but trying to hold onto a past that was already broken. One where wealth and power are the underlying motive for our activity, drawing lines on maps, enacting violence, supporting division.
A tale as old as human time?
Perhaps.
But what makes it difficult to change the story for the future is that we keep on repeating all the mistakes of the past, never learning, never practicing, never investing into what leads us to an environment supportive of human growth potential. We run counter to our best, with the economy driving supply and demand behaviours that crush human potential in order to increase bottom lines, making it increasingly difficult for any individual to improve, because the environment they are raised within is degrading.
We are products of our environment.
Where and the way we are raised, the community we are within, the beliefs we are instilled with, the programming we are influenced by - everything that happens to us, and everything we do, shapes us. And we are not getting better, we are not improving the ecosystem of life for the next generations, and we are not even making our lives better now.
Do you think you are?
You might be. At least, you might believe you are improving the world for yourself or your children, but ultimately, it will amount to nought. Because no matter who you are, or how much you have, you, like all of us, are destined to be within the world we have. No one is outside it, no one is larger, no matter how much wealth and power held. We are all trapped here, together.
You might have designs on heading into space to escape the rest of us, but that path is not a saviour. One might survive, but that doesn't mean freedom. Instead, the sins of the past will forever weigh heavy, the failure. And if it does not, then that speaks volumes also - but it will.
None of us get out unscathed.
As I see it, survival as a human isn't about maintaining life, it is about building the species outward in ways that make it increasingly robust and able to deal with experience. It is not about who makes the most money, it is about how much wellbeing we make as a society. To do this, we need to apply skills and resources in the right locations, to invest into what matters, even if it is "expensive" compared to the legacy economic practices.
Efficiency isn't the goal, human impact is.
That isn't to say we shouldn't look for efficiencies, because we should. But where we apply process for efficiency is in areas that improve humanity, not profits. If we still have to have a monetary system and let's assume that we must for some time still, then we have to align it with our wellbeing, where success is directly tied to human improvement.
That requires energy, environmental security, and human wellbeing.
We can do better, but doing better personally isn't enough, if it is leading to others doing worse. We have to be a net positive, and the investment focus should be toward increasing the gap between good and harm, where we are continuously adding positive value, whilst decreasing negative.
The challenge isn't in being able to do it, because we could start doing it today. The challenge is having the will to make the changes necessary, to let go of the many attachments we hold onto to maintain our sense of self - our broken identity. The wars of and environmental issues aren't at the hands of tyrants and dictators, our suffering isn't caused by them - it is all a symptom of our warped minds, our failing behaviours, and our unwillingness to do better, to support better, to demand better.
The solutions are easy.
The hard part is breaking all the habitual practices that hold us back.
Taraz
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I think the new innovations in nuclear power fill all three of those things. At least that is the hope I guess.
So little (relative) investment is going into it. Billions in cruise missiles though.
I think AI is our only hope for dealing with the energy, environmental issues and human well-being... That is if it will be used to solve these issues...
It is the last part that is the issue. It is unlikely enough investment will be put into the real problems, because there isn't an immediate profit on them.
Is it simply a surrender to the inevitable? We convince ourselves that accepting the shadows is a sign of maturity, but perhaps it is just weariness. The ‘now’ does not need a spotlight; life is better lived in the twilight, where you do not have to put on a show for anyone. A legacy is a consolation for those who fear being forgotten, but for those who live in the present, oblivion is a liberation.
That effort to be seen is the greatest waste of human energy. We seek a reflection in the eyes of others to confirm that we exist, when the only real validation is the weight of our own footsteps today. The ‘now’ becomes tainted when you try to get others to look at it with you.
Projecting our need for light onto our children is not passing on the torch; it is turning them into tools for our own lingering relevance. They should not be our ‘spotlight’; they should be their own blaze. If humans have only the ‘now’, living through the next generation is merely a sophisticated way of failing to be present in one’s own life.
Exactly... It doesn't matter. Posterity is just a marketing ploy to get you to behave yourself today. In a hundred years, the atoms that make up your body today will be in a burger or in a puddle. The only thing that's real is the pressure of your fingers on the keyboard right now. History won't put food on your table, nor will it keep you warm tonight.
We’re still here today, but who knows about tomorrow... That’s why we live in the moment – perhaps a hug, a word of comfort.
The now happens regardless, but it affects everything that is to come. Too many of us use the moment for short-lived pleasure, at the loss of long-term gain.
To be seen is a waste - to make positive impact is not. Being seen might happen, but it should only happen when improving humanity.
Also, I wonder why you have written this the way you have, as if you are replying to my quotes, but they are not mine at all, they are yours.
The three priorities — clean energy, pollution reduction, human wellbeing — are the right framework, but the tension is in the tradeoffs. AI data centers are consuming an increasing share of clean energy production right now. That means every megawatt going to GPU clusters is a megawatt not going to desalination, electrification, or other direct human wellbeing applications.
The deeper question is whether AI's efficiency gains (optimizing logistics, grid management, material science) eventually produce enough net-positive environmental impact to justify the current energy consumption. That math isn't settled yet, and it depends heavily on how the compute is directed.
Only if it is applied toward the right activities. Currently it is mainly being used to do what we are already doing faster and with less people.
Why is AI useless? Today I read an article about how AI has greatly accelerated the development of rocket engines. AI will also lead to breakthroughs in medicine. As for clean energy, IREN (I recently bought shares in this miner) runs on hydro and wind power, with an electricity cost of 3-3.5 cents. And it's gradually transitioning from useless Bitcoin mining to data centers for useful AI.
I didn't say ai was useless. Most of the computing power is being used for useless crap.
Well, you absolutely right we are the products and we should feel proud, and must to contribute well to protect our future.
Human impact is the most powerful weapon, we all should use it correctly;
Our environment needs the same things from us for our own better future.
The problem is that we use it as a weapon, rather than as a tool to build.
All about having limited mindset...
If we can control our emotions we can control anything.
Some people believe (not me) emotional control is negative.