Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by nearly 50 percent over the past five years, due to the data centers needed to power artificial intelligence, according to the company’s 2024 Environmental Report. The report shows the company’s progress toward meeting its self-proclaimed goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, despite this additional challenge.
Using ai features (not to mention training the models) is energy intensive. In 2023, researchers at ai startup Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University discovered that generating a single image using artificial intelligence can consume as much energy as charging a smartphone.
Google has plenty of ai projects underway. In addition to generative ai tools like Gemini, it’s using the technology to add more than 100 languages to its translation services. And there are the rumored ai chatbots, too.
According to the report, Google said it expects its total greenhouse gas emissions to increase “before falling toward our absolute emissions reduction goal,” without explaining what would cause this decline.
– Mat Smith
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Three miles of I-94 will have special sensors and communications equipment.
Alphabet-backed startup Cavnue has begun building the smart highway as part of a new pilot project for smart highways. The new smart highway is a long-haul tracking system, designed to inform both the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and drivers about potential future problems. The project is expected to help alleviate traffic congestion and even prevent accidents. The highway pilot program is located between Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan, with future plans to extend the smart highway to 40 miles in six more phases that would connect both cities.
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If the future of drone sales seems uncertain…
With the likelihood of a US ban on its popular drones growing, DJI has branched out into something very different. Enter the Avinox Drive, a motor system for electric bikes that will compete with mainstream brands like Bosch and Shimano. The Avinox system, at least on paper, appears to out-spec some popular systems from those rivals, thanks to its lower weight, extra torque, and higher-capacity batteries. DJI won’t be making bikes, though, so we’ll see how it fares. The system will first appear with a new bike brand called Amflow, which will launch the new PL model weighing 19.2 kg (42 lb), at the low end of electric mountain bikes (eMTBs).
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Fortunately, it's not a ten-part action drama.
The latest title to join the Netflix Games roster is a modern remake of Minesweeper, Old time-killing game for Windows PC from the 90s. The classic PC puzzle game has been reinvented with an international setting, where the player must literally search for underwater mines.
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