When scientists speculate about alien civilizations, they occasionally reference Dyson Spheres, constructs which completely encapsulate a star for the purpose of gathering its entire energy output. But to what purpose is the energy to be applied? That’s less often addressed.
But now NewScientist (27 August 2016) may have inadvertently supplied an answer.
The machine-learning boom is another problem. The amount of energy silicon-based computers use is set to soar as they crunch more of the massive data sets that algorithms in this field require. The Semiconductor Industry Association estimates that, on current trends, computing’s energy demands will outstrip the world’s total energy supply by 2040.
OK, so it’s nearly certain that we’ll find a way around to this problem, and that Dyson sphere secretly planned by the NSA? Not necessary. But it’s interesting as a way to illustrate our interest in machine learning and the associated Big Data boom. Whether the processing requirements will remain on this straight line will correlate with whether or not we find machine learning to be useful.
Another thought – if a true Artificial Intelligence (AI) was developed, what would its power requirements be? Would it simply be an assemblage of machine learning algorithms operating on an immense database? That sounds expensive in energy terms, depending on how you define an AI.
But speaking for myself, I wonder if our own constrained personal energy systems, even as profligate as we seem to be at this time (i.e., world-wide obesity rates rising), are the source of our rather odd mental processes. Our memories are hardly ever literal, but rather constructed and often confabulated. Our calculating capabilities are usually quite limited, and -ahem- we create computers to better perfect those abilities. Our reasoning is often flawed, and we’ve made a celebrity out of a fictional character known for his capabilities in the area of logic. Would a mobile AI be similarly constrained? While I’m sure these thoughts have occurred to experts in the field, I have not kept up – which either forces me to do some research, or just speculate irresponsibly.
I think I’ll go with the latter today.
