Cop pulls over AI-driven car

Good morning, and happy Monday! Our news is so tasty that you don’t even need dipping sauce—let’s chow down. 😋

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GOOGLE’S AI IS DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT 😳

A single LLM query is estimated to consume approximately 0.3 kWh of energy. This is roughly 1,000 times more energy than a standard Google search, which uses around 0.0003 kWh. 🤯

What’s going on? Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have surged 48% over the past five years, primarily due to increased electricity consumption and supply chain emissions correlated with AI development. This was outlined in its 2024 Environmental Report.

Want some numbers? AI systems are greenhouse guzzlers. Since 2019, Google’s emissions have risen by nearly 50%. In 2023 alone, emissions rose 13% to 14.3 million metric tons. These numbers show no signs of slowing down. In fact, the International Energy Agency predicts that data center electricity consumption could double by 2026, with AI-related energy usage potentially reaching 4.5% of global energy generation by 2030. Fresh water usage is another environmental factor in the AI boom, as it is used to prevent GPUs (which power AI systems) from overheating. The average data center uses 300,000 gallons of water per day to keep this hardware cool, roughly equivalent to the water usage in 100,000 homes. One study estimates that AI could account for up to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water use by 2027.

Why is this significant? Google’s goal to “achieve net-zero emissions across all operations by 2030” is in major jeopardy as numbers continue to spike in the wrong direction. The Guardian nicely outlines this dilemma: “Pledges to reduce CO₂ emissions are now coming up against pledges to invest heavily in AI products that require considerable amounts of energy for training and deployment in data centres.” The search for innovative and renewable energy solutions continues.

MORE MICROSOFT LAYOFFS 👀

Initiate Donald Trump voice: “You’re fired.” ☝️

What’s new? As Microsoft’s fiscal year comes to an end, they have initiated their third round of layoffs since January.

Some context? In January, nearly 2,000 employees were laid off from Microsoft’s gaming unit, shortly after the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Last month, 1,000 more positions were cut in areas like Azure cloud and HoloLens mixed reality. This new round of layoffs marks around 5,000 Microsoft employees in 2024 alone who are left to find new jobs.

Why does this matter? Microsoft’s layoffs represent a deeper trend in the tech sector as companies look for ways to leverage AI’s abilities to perform tasks and stay economically competitive. If you want to know more about AI’s potential impact on the economy, check out our deep dive from yesterday!

COP PULLS OVER DRIVERLESS CAR 😅

I got fired from my job as a taxi driver. It turns out my customers didn’t like it when I tried to go the extra mile. 🚕

What happened? A Phoenix police officer pulled over a Waymo self-driving robotaxi for driving on the wrong side of the road in a construction zone. When the police officer approached the car, the robotaxi automatically rolled down its window and connected the officer to a Waymo representative. The bodycam footage (above) is now going viral.

How did Waymo respond? Waymo confirmed the incident, attributing the car’s behavior to “inconsistent construction signage.” This event occurred just weeks after Waymo recalled 672 vehicles due to their inability to avoid pole-like objects. This incident raises the question of who is responsible when self-driving cars go rogue or get in trouble with the law.

MONEY MONDAY 🤑

People are discovering innovative (and sometimes wacky) ways to make money using AI. Check out today’s featured video:

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