Month: July 2024
The US grid can’t handle the drain of growing generative AI energy use
The growth of generative AI requires huge amounts of water and energy and the US grid is struggling to cope.… Continue reading The US grid can’t handle the drain of growing generative AI energy use
The post The US grid can’t handle the drain of growing generative AI energy use appeared first on ReadWrite.
The growth of generative AI requires huge amounts of water and energy and the US grid is struggling to cope.
As AI has taken off in the last few years, new data centers are popping up across the country to support the paid acceleration of AI. Learning models need such data centers to provide the vast amount of computing resources required to train and deploy complex machine learning models and algorithms.
However, data centers also require a huge amount of power to run and maintain them, as well as water to cool the servers inside. Concerns are rising about whether the US power grid can generate enough electricity for the growing number of necessary data centers. While AI has been helping to improve sustainability in some fields, if it’s not a sustainable technology in itself, it won’t be doing any good for the planet.
What can be done to save energy in the AI space?
Those working in AI production both on a hardware and software level are working to mitigate these drains on energy and resources, as well as investing in sustainable energy sources.
“If we don’t start thinking about this power problem differently now, we’re never going to see this dream we have,” Dipti Vachani, head of automotive at Arm, told CNBC. The chip company’s low-power processors are being used more and more by huge companies like Google, Microsoft, Oracle and Amazon because they can help to reduce power use by up to 15% in data centers.
Work is also being done to reduce how much energy AI models need in the first place. For example, Nvidia’s latest AI chip, Grace Blackwell, incorporates Arm-based CPUs that can supposedly run generative AI models on 25 times less power than the previous generation.
“Saving every last bit of power is going to be a fundamentally different design than when you’re trying to maximize the performance,” Vachani said.
Nonetheless, concerns remain that these measures won’t be enough. After all, one ChatGPT query uses nearly 10 times as much energy as a typical Google search, while generating an AI image can use as much power as charging a smartphone fully.
The effects are being seen most clearly with the larger companies, with Google’s latest environmental report showing greenhouse gas emissions rising nearly 50% between 2019 and 2023, in part because of data center energy consumption. That’s despite claims from Google that data centers are 1.8 times as energy efficient as a typical data center. Similarly, Microsoft’s emissions rose nearly 30% from 2020 to 2024, also due partly to data centers.
Featured image: Unsplash
The post The US grid can’t handle the drain of growing generative AI energy use appeared first on ReadWrite.
How YouTube Became the Most Popular Streaming Service on TVs
The platform first known for viral videos now attracts more viewers on TVs than Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video.
The platform first known for viral videos now attracts more viewers on TVs than Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions – Release date, trailers, platforms, and everything we know
If you played Portkey Games’ Hogwarts Legacy and wondered why Quidditch wasn’t a prominent feature, it’s because there’s a whole… Continue reading Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions – Release date, trailers, platforms, and everything we know
The post Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions – Release date, trailers, platforms, and everything we know appeared first on ReadWrite.
If you played Portkey Games’ Hogwarts Legacy and wondered why Quidditch wasn’t a prominent feature, it’s because there’s a whole new game dedicated to the brutal wizarding sport.
This is called Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions and we have a bunch of freshly revealed info on most Wizard’s and Witch’s favorite sport.
We’ll showcase the Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions release date, any trailers, platforms, editions, and more so you know as much as possible before getting on that broom.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions release date
If you’re eager to bat away those Bludgers and catch that all-important Golden Snitch, you won’t have to wait long to do so.
That’s because the Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions release date is September 3, 2024, beating the Holiday rush.
This will likely allow you to get some serious game time in before the number of game launches ramps up.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions trailers
There have been two trailers released for Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions – the reveal and “Welcome Students!” trailers.
The first of these was little more than a tease for what’s to come but it did showcase the art style for the game as well as some familiar faces from the Harry Potter books and movies.
It also gave us the release date for the game, something first trailers don’t really do, which was a nice surprise.
The second “Welcome Students!” trailer, even though it was less than two minutes long, was pretty packed with information.
We got our look at different modes, character creation, and even some raw gameplay, a perfect pre-launch snippet for those who are on the fence for whether they want to buy it or not.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions platforms
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions will be available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
This is pretty much every platform out there in the wild right now, making it a true multi-platform release.
On PC, it’s even available via both Steam and Epic so you’ll have a choice depending on your preference.
Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions editions
There are two editions for Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions – Standard and Deluxe.
The Standard Edition provides you with the base game only, no frills or additional content, for $29.99.
This is a respectable entry price for the experience considering there are both single and multiplayer modes available, coupled with some extensive character customization. However, it is a game solely focused on Quidditch, so it can only reach so far.
The Deluxe Edition includes the base game and additional goodies for you Potterheads out there who want anything and everything related to the Wizarding World.
This will set you back $39.99 and has the following additional content:
2,000 Gold
The Slytherin House Pack
Slytherin Stormrider Hurricane Broom Skin
Slytherin Hogwarts Travel School Uniform
Slytherin House Crest Emblem
The Hufflepuff House Pack
Hufflepuff Stormrider Sandstorm Broom Skin
Hufflepuff Hogwarts Travel School Uniform
Hufflepuff House Crest Emblem
The Ravenclaw House Pack
Ravenclaw Stormrider Cyclone Broom Skin
Ravenclaw Hogwarts Travel School Uniform
Ravenclaw House Crest Emblem
The Gryffindor House Pack
Gryffindor Stormrider Firestorm Broom Skin
Gryffindor Hogwarts Travel School Uniform
Gryffindor House Crest Emblem
You can buy the Deluxe Edition both in Digital and Physical form but the latter is not available at launch.
What is the Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions pre-order bonus?
If you’re hyped after everything you’ve read so far on Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, you’ll probably want to secure your copy early by pre-ordering.
Thankfully, if you do so, there is a pre-order bonus to sweeten the deal.
The pre-order bonus for Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is the Firebolt Supreme Broom Skin which is a newer variant of the one that Potter himself owned during his time at Hogwarts.
It’s available to everyone, contrary to the Legacy Pack, despite which edition you pre-order so no need to pay the extra for the Deluxe if you’re not sold on it.
The post Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions – Release date, trailers, platforms, and everything we know appeared first on ReadWrite.
US Agency Puts Onus on Amazon For Sale of Hazardous Third-Party Products
Amazon is responsible for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform under the federal safety law and bears legal responsibility for their recall, the U.S. consumer protection authority said on Tuesday. From a report: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said it has issued an order for the e-commerce giant to propose remediation plans to notify consumers about these products and to remove them from consumers’ homes by encouraging returns or destruction. More than 400,000 products are subject to this order, the CPSC said, noting in particular faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children’s sleepwear that violated flammability standards. The CPSC has determined that Amazon was a “distributor” of such defective products as they are listed on its website, even though they are sold by third-party sellers under the “Fulfilled by Amazon” program.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Amazon is responsible for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform under the federal safety law and bears legal responsibility for their recall, the U.S. consumer protection authority said on Tuesday. From a report: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said it has issued an order for the e-commerce giant to propose remediation plans to notify consumers about these products and to remove them from consumers’ homes by encouraging returns or destruction. More than 400,000 products are subject to this order, the CPSC said, noting in particular faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection, and children’s sleepwear that violated flammability standards. The CPSC has determined that Amazon was a “distributor” of such defective products as they are listed on its website, even though they are sold by third-party sellers under the “Fulfilled by Amazon” program.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Movie Editors and Animators Fear A.I. Will Kill Jobs
Actors and writers won strict limits on artificial intelligence in last year’s contract negotiations, but other workers face a growing challenge.
Actors and writers won strict limits on artificial intelligence in last year’s contract negotiations, but other workers face a growing challenge.