The Real Cost of Crypto and Chatbots
Today's angry place is focused on the double standards of embracing big tech without question versus espousal of critical literacy that exists in academia. Why is this so?
AI chatbot mass use is totally unsustainable from an environmental perspective, yet do we hear anyone talking about that in academic circles? No. We only hear "lets use chatgpt, it's the future!" and some vague idea about doing coursework instead of essays to try and shut down plagiarism. This is similar to the whole cryptocurrency argument or even Blockchain per se. The impact on the environment is comparable (or worse) than oil. So climate bro and his orange dust smoke act might consider protesting against tech bro fantasies next time.
Remember, anger is an energy. Get critical, stop accepting all this as normal and 'the future'. Teach students to ask the real questions, not just some tedious 'how to be assessed for my critical thinking in this coursework'. Give them transferable digital critical literacy that actually matters. Of course that begins with you, the educator.
Links
- the-5-biggest-problems-with-blockchain
- cryptocurrency-mining-environmental-impacts
- chatgpt-generative-ai-water-use
Full size image (click)
An AI generated image of chimneys and long grass using Nightcafe, based on a childhood painting
