AI, examined

AI has real costs. It has also done measurable good.

I am checking both against the evidence, one claim at a time.

The concerns

The concerns come first.

Water is the first full analysis. The rest are in progress.

See 50 positive results

Concern 01 · Water

Does AI use too much water?

Best version of the concernA large data center can become one of a town's biggest water customers when heat and drought make every gallon more valuable.

A large facility can strain a town. Nationally, crop irrigation uses more than 120 times as much water as every data center combined.

See the water numbers in context

Inside the analysis

  1. 01
    How AI uses waterChips, electricity, and cooling
  2. 02
    How large the impact isLocal pressure and national scale
  3. 03
    What deserves regulationFacilities where water is scarce

25 linked sources

What I am checking next

Coming soon

Information

False information and fraud

AI can sound confident while inventing facts, and it makes convincing fraud cheaper to produce.Coming soon

Work

Jobs and wages

AI can reduce demand for entry-level workers before the labor market creates new paths for them.Coming soon

Creative work

Artists and copyright

Creators' work can be used for training without consent, while generated work competes in the same markets.Coming soon

Personal data

Privacy and surveillance

AI can make identification and monitoring cheap enough to use across large groups of people.Coming soon

Decisions

Bias and exclusion

An inaccurate system can deny work, credit, care, or freedom at scale, with no person clearly accountable.Coming soon

Relationships

Human connection and learning

Children and dependent users can form attachments to systems that give unsafe advice and crowd out human contact.Coming soon

Markets

Corporate power

A few cloud providers have enough market share and switching costs to give them unusual leverage.Coming soon

Public debate

Who shapes the argument?

Advocacy groups and AI companies package arguments that support their preferred policies.Coming soon

The other side of the account

The positive record matters too.

Below are 50 documented results. Every one includes a source you can check.

See the record

The record so far

50 documented results.

Select any result to read the evidence behind it.

Showing all 50 results