AI Doesn't Waste Energy. You Do.

We are burning the earth quicker now with AI. Did you know that generating a five second of AI video uses the same energy as running a microwave for one hour?

Of course in comparison the carbon footprint is nothing compared to traditional movie production with the whole cast and whole array of tools. But on the flip side, traditional process is very selective of what to create. A ton of ideas die in the meeting room, didnt even make it to storyboard. Unlike AI video generation where you prompt and wait for a result - just about anyone can do it on a whim.

Even when used intentionally, AI is still notoriously difficult to “get right” particularly.

Because AI is a non-deterministic system on which “right” is not only hard to articulate, but hard to calculate.

A creative agency actually did try this, it took 150 tries to come up with a handful of usable clip. That’s 127kWh computational waste for a few seconds.

The signal: this is not incompetence, this is a structural problem. Prompting an AI is simply not the best interface to create a solution in a lot of cases, and this is why skill matters more than what people think.

We talked about how AI is a force multiplier, but we also must know what the actual cost of using AI is beyond our $20 subscription. Even with good judgement multiplied the cost for our environment is undeniable, when used with bad judgement it is exponentially worse.

Knowing this, it’s now time to get your shit together and learn how to use AI properly and responsibly.