Whether it’s using AI to spot friends and family in smartphone photos, personalizing social media feeds or helping diagnose cancer, new technologies in AI are becoming a part of everyday life. But the tech’s rapid growth raises questions about its environmental impact and ethical implications. In this edition of artificial intelligence news, we explore these issues and more.
The first of these developments relates to deep learning, an AI approach that enables computers to perform tasks that were previously considered beyond human capabilities, such as image recognition and language processing. The technology has been hailed by some as one of the most significant technological advances of the 20th century.
More recently, generative AI has emerged as another exciting area for new technologies in AI. Known as GANs, these systems generate new images and other content through a process called reinforcement learning. By analyzing a large dataset, the system can create realistic-looking images and videos, which is useful for a range of industries including advertising and gaming.
In addition to generating interesting content, generative AI models consume serious power. This demand for energy has driven the creation of large data centres that house thousands of racks of computer servers – and require vast amounts of water to cool them. Some experts worry this could worsen global water shortages and lead to climate change, while others say these facilities may help solve other problems such as urban sprawl and congestion.