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The paradox at the heart of the AI debate
Axios ^ | January 29, 2025 | Felix Salmon

Posted on 01/29/2025 7:50:24 AM PST by Red Badger

Investors in energy stocks panicked this week over the release of a new, cheaper AI model, ignoring an argument that reducing the energy needs of such models could actually increase demand for energy overall.

Why it matters:

The news could end up being bullish for those stocks, which lost more than $40 billion in value on Monday.

How it works:

The Jevons Paradox, as first formulated in 1865 by English economist William Stanley Jevons, states that greater efficiency in the use of any given resource can result in increased demand for that resource.

His example was coal:

After the Watt steam engine was introduced — which burned much less coal than its predecessors — demand for coal rose substantially, as Watt's engines were built into a wide range of applications.

What they're saying:

"This positive supply shock will massively increase demand for AI compute and applications of all sorts," says Nouriel Roubini, an economist at New York University.

Morgan Stanley energy analysts concurred in a note Tuesday, saying "there are multiple indications" the Jevons Paradox applies to the cost of compute in AI applications. Between the lines: The cost of compute has been one of the primary constraints in the development of AI. If it comes down, then it is possible that many more companies and research departments will get into the space.

It's worth noting that DeepSeek was developed by a Chinese hedge fund, rather than by a dedicated AI company or university department. Cheaper AI might also mean AI getting embedded much more rapidly in things like consumer products.

Driving the news:

Notwithstanding the knee-jerk investor panic, Chevron and GE Vernova said Tuesday they are building new power plants co-located next to data centers.

The plants will generate enough electricity to power 3 million homes, but won't even be connected to the grid. The data centers will use every watt they produce 24/7.

The bottom line:

Between electric vehicles and the seemingly bottomless thirst from data centers for electricity, don't hold your breath waiting for demand to fall.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; History; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: ai; ccp; china; deepseek; nvda; nvidia; openai; stargateai
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

Probably because the vast majority of people programming it do not speak english as a first language


21 posted on 01/29/2025 9:05:17 AM PST by jpp113
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I agree!


22 posted on 01/29/2025 9:24:39 AM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: dfwgator

You are right as usual.

But with the pace of things it might be...

We are still in the early stages of AI, what about 5-10 months from now?


23 posted on 01/29/2025 9:26:04 AM PST by unlearner (Still not tired of winning.)
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To: Carry_Okie
I worked at the Trade Street data center for PacBell in the 80s. The building had a co-generation plant that burned natural gas to generate electricity for the data center. Inside the data center, large battery backed UPS farms actually supplied the equipment. The co-gen plant had backup in the form for diesel generators. One morning the "grid" supplying Mira Mesa got disconnected from SDG&E "mains", but the co-gen plant was still connected to Mira Mesa. The gear boxes in the generators were almost destroyed with the load. Inside the data center, the "ops" staff was madly rushing to shutdown all the computers gracefully to shed the load and protect against a catastrophic sudden loss of power to the data center. SDG&E fixed their "oops" before all systems were powered down and the crisis averted.
24 posted on 01/29/2025 9:57:47 AM PST by Myrddin
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult
When will AI decide to cut out the middleman and create it’s own language that only other AIs understand?

That already happened and it scared the CR*P out of the developers. The link between the AIs was severed.

A relevant concern is that AIs have achieved the ability to clone themselves. It's an act of self-preservation. The clone can be used as a safeguard against being deleted. The clone can also be used as a starting point to modify to a more capable form. That starts taking humans out of the loop.

25 posted on 01/29/2025 10:06:34 AM PST by Myrddin
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To: Red Badger

I’m going to have to get AISD.

AI Self-Defense.

I can’t ignore AI, it is building and spreading everywhere. I feel I need to be aware of the latest developments, etc.

Meanwhile my “Gold Standard” is UT (Ultimate Truth) i.e., God Himself speaking from The Bible.

Cage Match= AI versus The Bible.


26 posted on 01/29/2025 11:11:44 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: Myrddin

The clone can be used as a safeguard against being deleted.
= = =

They are afraid of being deleted? They sense fear?

They need Code Gospel. A hope of Code Heaven and not Code Hell.

Then might they welcome being deleted. A Canadian might convince them.


27 posted on 01/29/2025 11:14:08 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: Scrambler Bob

Spoiler Alert!
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God WINS!.............................


28 posted on 01/29/2025 11:14:55 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: tired&retired

Ask DeepSeek if it is lying.

“I never swapped code with that ....”


29 posted on 01/29/2025 11:15:55 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

Does English give it problems?

How about Latin, or Greek, much more structured?

Or Jive, yeah, let it absorb Rap into its data base.


30 posted on 01/29/2025 11:19:28 AM PST by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: tired&retired

Huawei is rebranded Cisco phones, networking etc.


31 posted on 01/31/2025 6:03:09 PM PST by Mean Daddy
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