Do we still need AI data centers or have the Swiss punched holes in them?

What’s not to love about massive AI data centers?

I mean, of course, other than e-waste, massive water consumption (especially in dry regions), reliance on destructive and human rights-violating mining to extract rare elements, and extraction of electricity from dirty energy sources?

Yes, but how else are you supposed to get all those awesome Studio Ghibli replica pictures, those awesome AI-only albums, or AI “retro” videos from? The Avengers “Recast” with AI Paul Newman and AI Robert Redford? You won’t make it! And certainly not without these huge AI data centers.

But seriously, with AI offering enormous benefits for medical diagnosis and treatment as well as combating climate change, the question becomes: How can we reap the benefits without paying the terrible price?

It turns out that the Swiss may have poked holes in the entire AI data center industry and many of the problems associated with it. At the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, a major technology and public…