"Ready, set, CHARGE! Is this what 'Build, back better' was all about? How about if we used our heads once in a while, before we spent so much (money we don't have) as to really screw up our economy. We need more energy, and we need more sources of fresh water. Period. Without that, our prowess in the exciting new field of AI, might just be very limited."
I am going to get very real for this post. Not that I have not been real in the past, but this issue has been gnawing at me for some time now. It really is not going to matter a whit who is our next president, or if Biden is wheeled in to take his oath for another term. What is coming is something which needs to be addressed rather than just blown off. Blown off? What say you, Bird? This issue is uncomfortable to talk about. But it is coming - no matter who is president.
Energy. Our grid. As if it is not taxed enough right now, with the passage of the Chips Act, as well as the normal growth in the computer chip industry, we are going to need a boat load of water. Why? The manufacturing process of chip making demands ultimate cleanliness. So much so, water will be needed to constantly clean the surface of the chips being manufactured. Is this really that big of a problem? For the new TSMC mega plant being built in Arizonia it sure is. But who cares? Arizona has plenty of water - right? WRONG!
The water issue to build these new chips is only thing one which is wrong. With the proliferation of AI technology, and the demand for better and faster AI chips, the power required to run the data farms will be enormous. So much so, some futurists are thinking each data farm will require its own mini nuke plant. But - we don't have any of these new mini nuke plants. Can't we just use our current grid? Nope. Not with the coming demand of EVs and as well as our normal usage. And lest we forget, Joe Biden is closing down our coal and oil industry in favor of "green technology". And "green technology" might be decades away from being a major energy player.
Speaking of being decades away from a mature technology, the EV battery issue is still a big problem. Our variable weather has shown that extreme cold or extreme heat are not good at all for maximum battery life. Plus (and this is a really killer), if too many EVs are plugged into the grid at one time for charging, it might over-tax the grid whereas brown outs or black outs would follow.
Ready, set, CHARGE! Is this what "Build, back better" was all about? How about if we used our heads once in a while, before we spent so much (money we don't have) as to really screw up our economy. We need more energy, and we need more sources of fresh water. Period. Without that, our prowess in the exciting new field of AI, might just be very limited.
No comments:
Post a Comment