Our team recently helped organize a series of immersive Microsoft Copilot trainings in the European Investment Bank (shout out to Koenraad Haedens). The goal was to help the business adopt the technology by demonstrating real use cases while discussing prompts and usage strategies.
Then came the question: "Can Copilot copy-paste data from one app to another for us?"
And I get it. It is a manual, boring task. But here is the thing: When you only have a hammer, every problem starts looking like a nail. 🔨
AI has become the be-all, end-all tool. Need to sum two numbers? Ask AI. Need to move data between apps? Ask AI.
There is a catch however: AI is not a "lite" tool. It's a massive, resource-heavy engine.
While your Windows calculator adds numbers with zero chance of hallucination and near-zero power consumption, an LLM query is an energy hog. Research shows that:
- A ChatGPT query is like leaving an LED lightbulb on for 20+ minutes.
- Generating just one AI image uses as much power as fully charging your phone.
- A 20-50 prompt "conversation" literally "drinks" a 500ml bottle of water for cooling.
Global stats are staggering:
- 📈 Data centers for AI chat bots currently consume 1.5% of global energy.
- 🇮🇪 In Ireland, they account for 21% of the national power grid.
- 💻 And they created such a severe RAM shortage that prices have skyrocketed (but that's a different story).
We can't control the personal usage of bots. The dancing cats and diving horses will persist for some time, until the novelty dies down. But in a bank dedicated to the green transition, our tech choices should be just as sustainable as our investments.
Let's use the right tool for the job
Use an API for data. Use a calculator for math. Save the incredible power of AI for the things that actually require it.
#MicrosoftCopilot #GenAI #Sustainability #GreenTech