Episode 133: What's the Environmental Cost of AI? (with Andy Masley)

Andy Masley joins Yoel and Mickey to talk about a claim that's made him (in)famous: using AI chatbots doesn't meaningfully affect your carbon footprint or water usage. We discuss what data centers actually do with water, why "ten times a Google search" is not a useful metric, and why people really don't want data centers built near them.

We also talk about Andy's involvement in effective altruism, which criticisms of it he takes seriously, and whether a grant from an EA funder should make you trust him less. Plus, some self-driving car discourse, and Yoel tries to drink a bottle of bourbon.

Finally, a small correction from Andy: "I misspoke at 48:00 and said you'd need to send 150,000 prompts to raise your emissions by 1%, I got my wires crossed with how much you'd need to double your emissions and the actual number should be 1,500 per day."

Special Guest: Andy Masley.

Links:

• Andy Masley | Substack
• What are the most pressing world problems? | 80,000 Hours
• Colossus 1
• No Data Centers In My Backyard - by Jasmine Sun
• In Due Course | Joseph Heath | Substack
• Home - Vaclav Smil
• Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air
• 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report
• United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update
• Tree House Brewing Company
• Fairweather Brewing Company – Craft Brewery in Hamilton, Ontario