UCLIC Seminar, 9 October 2024. Adrian Friday.

*Summary of the Talk: "We're Metabolising the Planet, for Profit"*

On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Adrian Friday from Lancaster University delivered a compelling seminar titled "We're Metabolising the Planet, for Profit" to the UCL research community. The seminar was held in Room 4.05 at 66-72 Gower Street and was also available via Zoom.

Key Points of the Talk:

#### Introduction and Context:
**Speaker Introduction**: Adrian Friday was introduced as a leading figure in computing and sustainability, focusing on the environmental impacts of digital systems, including energy use and carbon footprint reduction in both academic and industry contexts.
**Theme Overview**: The seminar addressed the environmental cost of digital research infrastructures (DRI), such as high-performance computing (HPC) and AI, and critiqued how academic research perpetuates unsustainable practices.

#### The Environmental Impact of Digital Research Infrastructures:
**The Growing Footprint of ICTs**: Adrian emphasized the lack of attention given to the energy and environmental impact of research processes themselves. He noted that HPC and AI are growing exponentially in terms of both usage and carbon emissions, despite attempts to make computation more energy-efficient.
**Cultural Waste and Academic Norms**: The talk introduced the concept of “cultural waste” in research, where institutions encourage practices such as excessive computation for validation, which adds little value but significantly increases environmental costs.

#### Socio-Technical and Policy Dimensions:
**Socio-Technical Interactions**: Adrian explained how academic practices, funding models, and publication pressures reinforce growth in computational use. He stressed that rather than questioning whether more computation is necessary, current practices embed it further into academic and industrial settings.
**Policy Implications**: Large-scale data centers and AI infrastructures are absorbing a disproportionate share of renewable energy resources, creating local and global competition for energy. Adrian illustrated how countries like Ireland and Sweden are seeing strained energy systems due to the growth of data centers.

#### Case Study - AI and HPC:
**AI as a Poster Child**: AI was used as an example to illustrate the unsustainable growth of computation. While model accuracy improvements have plateaued, the size and energy consumption of AI models continue to expand. Adrian warned that this trend contributes to significant environmental degradation and increased hardware obsolescence.
**Efficiency vs. Rebound Effect**: Despite technological innovations to improve efficiency, Adrian argued that these gains are often nullified by a rebound effect, where the increase in computational power drives more usage, offsetting the benefits.

Q&A Highlights:
1. **Addressing the Hidden Costs of Computation**: When asked how to make the environmental costs of digital systems more visible, Adrian pointed to tools like the Green Algorithms project and carbon calculators. However, he acknowledged that translating these impacts into understandable terms for the public and policymakers remains a major challenge.

2. **Role of HCI Researchers**: A question was raised about whether HCI researchers have a role in this space. Adrian emphasized that while HCI researchers are not solely responsible for solving the problem, they are in a unique position to develop tools and frameworks that promote more sustainable digital practices.

3. **Making Hardware Last Longer**: When asked about building longevity into computer equipment, Adrian mentioned that the trend toward frequent upgrades driven by rapid AI model growth often leads to premature hardware obsolescence. He advocated for a greater focus on hardware reuse and recycling to mitigate this issue.

4. **Curriculum and Education**: Another participant suggested incorporating sustainability into school curricula to raise awareness from an early age. Adrian agreed and noted that teaching sustainability alongside computing would prepare future generations to understand and address these complex issues.

5. **Practical Departmental Solutions**: Adrian was asked about practical steps that departments can take. He recommended considering energy budgeting and changing procurement practices to facilitate resource sharing and using second-hand equipment where possible.

Conclusion:
Adrian concluded with a call to action for the academic community to adopt more sustainable research practices. He emphasized the need for greater accountability and urged researchers to prioritize environmental responsibility in designing and using digital systems.

Overall, Adrian Friday’s seminar offered a critical perspective on the hidden environmental costs of digital infrastructures and provided actionable recommendations to foster a more sustainable research culture.