AI snake oil — its limits, risks, and its thirst for resources

Future Tense

Chat GPT pioneer, Sam Altman, reckons democratic countries will need to re-write their social contracts once AI reaches its full potential, such is its power to shape the future. But to quote a famous political aphorism: "he would say that, wouldn't he?" Princeton computer scientist, Arvind Narayanan, joins us to talk about the hype, the reality and the true limits of Artificial Intelligence. His new book is called "AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can't, and How to Tell the Difference". Also, AI's dirty secret – it's a huge consumer of both power and water. And the more popular it becomes, the thirstier it gets.

Guests

Professor Arvind Narayanan – Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University

Gordon Nobel – Research Director, Business, Economy and Governance, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Associate Professor Shaolei Ren — Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside

Further information

Narayanan, Arvind — AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can't, and How to Tell the Difference

Making AI Less "Thirsty": Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models

IT and Data Centre Sustainability in Australia