There are a pair other things I’ll be watching closely in 2025. One is how little the most important AI players—namely OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google—are disclosing concerning the environmental burden of their models. Numerous evidence suggests that asking an AI model like ChatGPT about knowable facts, just like the capital of Mexico, consumes far more energy (and releases much more emissions) than simply asking a search engine. Nonetheless, OpenAI’s Sam Altman in recent interviews has spoken positively concerning the idea of ChatGPT replacing the googling that we’ve all learned to do prior to now 20 years. It’s already happening, actually.
The environmental cost of all this shall be top of mind for me in 2025, as will the possible cultural cost. We’ll go from looking for information by clicking links and (hopefully) evaluating sources to easily reading the responses that AI search engines like google and yahoo serve up for us. As our editor in chief, Mat Honan, said in his piece on the topic, “Who desires to should learn when you’ll be able to just know?”
Deeper Learning
What’s next for our privacy?
The US Federal Trade Commission has taken a variety of enforcement actions against data brokers, a few of which have tracked and sold geolocation data from users at sensitive locations like churches, hospitals, and military installations without explicit consent. Though limited in nature, these actions may offer some latest and improved protections for Americans’ personal information.
