AI is a greedy beast
Apple has been forced to roll out major hardware changes to support Apple Intelligence:
- Memory: Apple has increased base memory across all of its machines. Macs, iPhone, and iPads all now ship with much more memory than before, boosting manufacturing costs.
- Processor: Apple has really pushed the boat out on processors in its latest hardware. The company effectively raised everyone up an extra grade during the last 18 months as it primed its ecosystem for Apple Intelligence with new, faster, more energy-efficient processors.
- Energy efficiency: Not only is Apple Silicon more energy efficient, but the company wants to give its devices more energy capacity. To do so, it is expected to shift to silicon-anode cells over the next 12 months. These hold around 15% more energy, which will be useful for the energy demands of edge AI.
- Server infrastructure: Reflecting its realization that not every task can be accomplished on edge devices, Apple has now re-entered the server market, introducing its own take on secure server-based cloud computing services, Private Cloud Compute.
Apple isn’t alone in any of this, but its actions highlight the extent of the hundreds of billions being spent on the sector today — costs that extend into essential infrastructure resources such as water, rare resources, and energy supply. All of this costs enterprises money, focus, and time. The rewards? Even OpenAI, arguably the doyen of AI tech, is shedding cash faster than it makes it, even on its priciest $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro plan.
What need does the greed feed?
Right now, all we really seem to be experiencing is more targeted ads placement, email and website summaries, stupid pictures in messages, deep employment insecurity, rising energy costs, and an increasingly homogenized trade in optimized job resumes, press releases, and student exam papers. Oh, and don’t forget the fake video influencers hawking their wares on heavily AI-SEO’d social media.
