Posted on 09/26/2025 3:43:36 AM PDT by Openurmind
Researchers have found that the carbon footprint of generative AI-based tools that can turn text prompts into images and videos is far worse than we previously thought.
As detailed in a new paper, researchers from the open-source AI platform Hugging Face found that the energy demands of text-to-video generators quadruple when the length of a generated video doubles — indicating that the power required for increasingly sophisticated generations doesn’t scale linearly.
For instance, a six-second AI video clip consumes four times as much energy as a three-second clip.
“Ultimately, we found that the common understanding of AI’s energy consumption is full of holes,” MIT Technology Review wrote in a recent analysis.
Link to study PDF:
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.19222
Link to MIT article:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/
That is actually good news. It becomes exponentially more difficult to create fake videos the longer they are.
No it is not... You are going to have to give up your central heating and cooling to feed this coming Beast...
Of course they don’t care if you can’t heat or cool your house, they are talking about AI’s “carbon footprint”.
At the same time they are forcing everyone to build electric houses and outlawing natural gas.
The only bright side is the technology will become more efficient over time.
The Climate Change Cult was already working on that. Any excuse would do for them.
Sounds like propaganda to force people to pay for AI searches.
Which brings up the additional energy required to cool the AI chips. Quickly scanning the study, I didn’t see that factored in.
If you calculate it using average carbon per watt or using carbon per incremental watt.
The carbon costs of the last watt produced is often much higher than the average.
This is my concerned face. I don’t care. I’ll buy energy stocks.
I personally could care less about the “footprint”. That concept does not negate the fact we will all have to change our lifestyles and live without heating and cooling to feed these beasts. Are you willing to do that?
“Which brings up the additional energy required to cool the AI chips. Quickly scanning the study, I didn’t see that factored in.”
That is exactly right... It is actually more...
OK, so... if it is 1 kWh for a 5 second clip. And if the power draw only increases by the step, a 1 minute clip would be?
Indeed true, also it won’t be long before these AI behemoths start charging money for several reasons as people outrage from electric bills and acreage torn up from coast to coast.
Other things too, like people getting sued (creators) left and right for fake accusations, plus much of the AI stuff created simply isn’t true even on simple requests.
Have the feeling that much of the AI systems will balloon in the next few years only to end up like electric cars/trucks did. A boondoggle paid by us, Ivanpah solar plant in Nevada is a perfect example.
Absolutely, and that doesn’t count the WATER... Whether you believe in climate change or not, which I do not, we still need to drink water to survive.
Some bright AI will invent an algorithm or chip that will reduce the costs. Can you imagine what the worlds energy use would be if we had the computers of the 1970s?
“Some bright AI will invent an algorithm or chip that will reduce the costs. Can you imagine what the worlds energy use would be if we had the computers of the 1970s?”
You have a point there... But this is going to negate all that new efficiency. We will be right back to that 70s high use equipment situation.
So we ARE going to be living that reality you imagine...
That is good. Maybe you will break even after you pay your new higher power rate...
Centralized technology eventually becomes decentralized. Back in the 60s a movie would take several heavy reels delivered by truck that a man could barely carry. Today I can download a movie to my device.
My parents TV required a dedicated electric outlet, today it hardly uses any power.
Wait for the AI sex issue. The power demand will increase rapidly, followed by multiple surges and then the ultimate power output which cause the computer to drastically slow down a search for a cigarette…. 🤣
As a first step the AI centers will start scaling back response times for the more power-intensive applications. At some level, they have designed their systems (and the cooling of them) for a peak demand, and will have the means to prevent an "overload".
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