My guiding question for Ocean2070 is: What we can and cannot take from the ocean to fix the climate crisis.
I want to test how AI can help me answer this question. First step: Ask Gemini how to do it.
Prompt I
I write: I want to use Gemini to analyse how climate change affects the ocean and marine life. Please advise on the most efficient way to prompt on Gemini.
Gemini reply
While “Gemini” can refer to the NASA astronaut program, it likely isn’t the tool you’re looking for in oceanography. Here’s how you can efficiently analyze how climate change affects the ocean and marine life:
1. Start with a Broad Search:
- Use a general search engine like Google Scholar or Web of Science to find recent, peer-reviewed research papers on the topic.
- Enter keywords like “climate change ocean impacts,” “ocean acidification marine life,” or “rising sea temperatures coral reefs.”
- Look for papers published by reputable institutions and scientists in the field of oceanography.
2. Refine your Search with Gemini:
Once you have a few relevant papers, you can leverage the capabilities of large language models like me to further your analysis. Here’s how to use me with these research papers:
Here are some prompts to get you started:
- “Summarize the key findings of this paper on the impact of climate change on ocean currents.” (Provide the paper title and authors)
- “Compare and contrast the effects of rising sea temperatures on coral reefs in the Indian Ocean vs. the Pacific Ocean based on these two studies.” (Provide links or references)
- “Identify the main trends in research on ocean acidification and its impact on marine life based on these recent publications.” (Provide a list of references)
- “After reading this paper on rising sea levels, can you find additional resources on the impact of coastal erosion?”
Remember:
- I cannot access and process information directly from websites, so you’ll need to provide me with the research papers themselves or links to them.
- I can help you analyze and understand the information, but the scientific knowledge itself comes from the research papers.
By combining traditional research methods with the capabilities of large language models, you can efficiently analyze the complex issue of climate change’s impact on our oceans.
Servers energy consumption – prompt II
Prompt: Now I want you to give a brief five bullet points summary of how much energy data servers use from this source (International Energy Agency)
Here’s a five-bullet point summary of data server energy use based on the information available from the International Energy Agency (IEA):
- Global Impact: Data centers and data transmission networks each account for roughly 1-1.5% of global electricity consumption.
- Increased Demand: Despite efficiency improvements, data center energy demand is projected to rise due to factors like AI and cryptocurrency mining.
- Growth Potential: In a worst-case scenario, data center electricity usage could double by 2026, reaching over 1,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually.
- Regional Disparity: The impact of data centers varies by location. For example, in Ireland, data centers are expected to consume a significant portion (32%) of the country’s electricity by 2026.
- Efficiency Efforts: Government regulations and technological advancements focusing on efficiency are crucial to moderate the surge in data center energy consumption.
Compare with other sectors – prompt III
Now I want you to compare data centers emissions with other sectors like air travel, heating, transportation (private and commercial), shipping using this source (Our World in Data)
Here’s a comparison of data center emissions with other sectors based on the information from Our World in Data [Breakdown of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions by sector – Our World in Data]:
- Data Centers: Data centers themselves don’t directly emit greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide (CO2) as they are facilities, not vehicles or industrial processes. However, their significant electricity consumption indirectly contributes to CO2 emissions depending on the energy source used for power generation.
- Air Travel: Air travel is a significant contributor to CO2 emissions, accounting for roughly 2.5% of global emissions.
- Heating: Heating buildings is a major source of emissions, particularly in colder climates. The specific sector breakdown (residential vs. commercial) can vary depending on the data source, but heating likely falls within the range of 10-20% of global emissions.
- Transportation (private and commercial): This is the largest emitting sector, responsible for around 24% of global emissions. Private cars and buses contribute the most (45.1%), followed by freight trucks (29.4%).
- Shipping: International shipping contributes a similar amount of CO2 emissions as air travel, at around 10.6% of the global total.
I no longer remember phone numbers…
This is me typing. Comedian Des Bishop in this show explains how he is annoyed that he remembers the phone number of a girl friend he had in the 1990s, but cannot remember his wife’s number.
There are numerous potential risks and dangers with AI. One that concerns me in addition to the worst case scenarios is how it reduces our ability to think critically, develop ideas and be creative. Those who remain creative and develop ideas are likely to be more powerful, underscoring the point. So, a critical distance, using it as a tool is hopefully possible.
