For me, this is the best image symbolizing what Gen AI actually is. A black box, burning the planet, understood best, paradoxically, through technological means.
What you see here is a thermal image of xAI's Datacenter in Memphis, where 33 methane power generators are burning without permission.
Photograph: Steve Jones/Flight by Southwings for Southern Environmental Law Center.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/24/elon-musk-xai-memphis
@festal That reminds me of a joke
How to needlessly produce 250 kg of CO2
Fred: "AI, please write a tactful and polite email to Sarah saying I will not be able to attend her birthday meal because my Uncle has just died and I need to be with my cousins"
AI: "Dear Sarah, I hope things are going well with you. As you know I was pleased to receive an invitation to the meal celebrating your birthday. Under normal circumstances nothing would delight me more ...." (Very long flowery email)
Sarah: "Gosh, what a long email. AI summarise this email"
AI: "Fred can't attend your birthday meal. His uncle has died and he needs to be with his cousins"
Sarah: "AI: Please draft an email to Fred, which tactfully says that I quite understand and I'm sorry for his loss" ...
@festal Nice data center. 🤬 🖕
It'd be a shame if anything happened to it. 🔥
@dixon
that’s overwhelmingly what ‘natural gas’ is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
„The dispute came to a head earlier this month when the #SouthernEnvironmentalLawCenter revealed that #xAI had quietly moved in at least 35 portable #methane gas turbines without air permits to help power its #supercomputer. The group says this many generators have the capacity to #power an entire city and are enormous #emitters of #toxic and #carcinogenic #pollution. The law center made the discovery by taking satellite images of the xAI facility.“
Orcs. The one ring.
@festal This is the equivalent of pointing at the worst 4chan posts and saying "For me, this is the best image symbolizing what the Internet actually is"
there is at least one category error in there
For me, this is the best image symbolizing what Gen AI actually is. A black box, burning the planet, understood best, paradoxically, through technological means.
What you see here is a thermal image of xAI's Datacenter in Memphis, where 33 methane power generators are burning without permission.
Photograph: Steve Jones/Flight by Southwings for Southern Environmental Law Center.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/24/elon-musk-xai-memphis
@festal That reminds me of a joke
How to needlessly produce 250 kg of CO2
Fred: "AI, please write a tactful and polite email to Sarah saying I will not be able to attend her birthday meal because my Uncle has just died and I need to be with my cousins"
AI: "Dear Sarah, I hope things are going well with you. As you know I was pleased to receive an invitation to the meal celebrating your birthday. Under normal circumstances nothing would delight me more ...." (Very long flowery email)
Sarah: "Gosh, what a long email. AI summarise this email"
AI: "Fred can't attend your birthday meal. His uncle has died and he needs to be with his cousins"
Sarah: "AI: Please draft an email to Fred, which tactfully says that I quite understand and I'm sorry for his loss" ...
@festal Nice data center. 🤬 🖕
It'd be a shame if anything happened to it. 🔥
@dixon
that’s overwhelmingly what ‘natural gas’ is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
„The dispute came to a head earlier this month when the #SouthernEnvironmentalLawCenter revealed that #xAI had quietly moved in at least 35 portable #methane gas turbines without air permits to help power its #supercomputer. The group says this many generators have the capacity to #power an entire city and are enormous #emitters of #toxic and #carcinogenic #pollution. The law center made the discovery by taking satellite images of the xAI facility.“
Orcs. The one ring.
@festal This is the equivalent of pointing at the worst 4chan posts and saying "For me, this is the best image symbolizing what the Internet actually is"
there is at least one category error in there
Georgiann Baldino
felix stalder
Chris
So many dynamos
lin11c
Daniel Marks
Paco Hope #resist
doesn't exist.
TheNovemberFella ✊🏳️🌈 🇺🇦☸️🛰️🚀
Dźwiedziu
Chris Dixon
Ned ‘Jonathan’ Schofield
PaperLouse
Kevin Russell
Marcel Weiß
patcanfield