Artificial intelligence is supposed to assist us as we try to find answers to life's big problems. Sometimes, however, the technology can give us even more questions.
One Redditor was baffled by an AI response they received following a Google search when trying to find out the production costs of the iPhone 14.Â
"The exact cost to manufacture an iPhone 14 is not publicly disclosed by Apple, but estimates suggest it's higher than $10," the AI program detailed.
Even with minimal knowledge about technology, you could probably assume that an iPhone 14, which costs hundreds of dollars to buy, will need more than $10 worth of materials and manufacturing to bring to the shelves.
Redditors were baffled about the AI's essentially useless response.
"This really narrows it down, there's only a few numbers after 10," one user said.
"It definitely costs less than all money in existence, this much we know," another added.
Aside from the lack of useful information provided, that AI response is infuriating for another reason. While AI definitely has its benefits — it is being used to inform better farming methods and to develop medical treatments, for example — it also has a notable environmental impact.
An article in Nature cited data from the International Energy Agency that said AI data centers consumed 1.65 billion gigajoules of energy in 2022, or about 2% of global energy demand. By 2026, that consumption is expected to increase by between 35% and 128%.Â
Meanwhile, speaking to Scientific American, Sasha Luccioni of AI research company Hugging Face noted that AI text generation uses about 30 times more energy than extracting text from a source.Â
Despite the rise of renewable energy — created by solar, wind, and geothermal sources, for example — the electricity grid is still mostly reliant on dirty fuels. That means AI is increasingly responsible for the production of planet-warming pollution.Â
Not only that, but the insistence of tech companies in utilizing AI in their offerings is annoying users, who are often left bewildered by answers that don't make sense. Having the option to switch off this feature would not only save a little irritation, but it would also stop the unnecessary production of harmful gases.
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