NO AUTOMATIC AI OVERVIEW

AI is being pushed upon us at break-neck speed, not only as an attractive option but also unchosen and without our consent.

AI has a heavy environmental cost and is derived through the exploitation of physical and intellectual resources that society has not agreed should be used in this way. When an AI Overview is automatically generated by our search, albeit without our having requested it, we are made to be complicit in this technology. For these reasons, we believe that automated AI functions are unethical and should be removed. People should have to choose AI every time they want it, thus encouraging more awareness and personal accountability in digital activity and reigning in the wasteful blanket approach that is currently in place.

An AI overview uses ten times as much energy as a traditional search. [1] With many millions of searches made per day in New Zealand, it certainly makes a difference in terms of energy consumption, whether it is a traditional or an AI search that takes place. 

The AI overview was put into action as an automatic add-on without asking permission of users and there is no easy way to turn it off. This contributes to the normalisation and forced adoption of AI and the knock-on effect of justifying the ‘need’ for data centres.

Data centres are required to store data and process searches.[3] Data centres are proliferating rapidly worldwide fuelled by the needs of the AI explosion. There are already in the range of 10,000 data centres around the world.[4] The new data centre consented for New Zealand’s deep south alone will cost NZ$3.5 billion.[5] Who is this actually benefitting? Data centres destroy environments, use enormous amounts of power and water, contribute negatively to the climate crisis and are generally not wanted by the communities in which they are built.[6] The AI overview is wasteful of resources so although it appears to be “free,” in fact, “someone pays” —  and it is the environment and the people living in areas around data centres, as well as anyone who pays a power bill, as the demand for resources is expected to raise the price of power [7]. The AI overview is made to be effortless on the part of the consumer, adding to the creation of a habit and a dependency, and the illusion that it has no cost.

AI capacity is made possible through theft of intellectual and artistic property as the thinkers, writers, scientists and artists of the world who created the content and discoveries that AI is trained on were not asked for permission [8], just as we were not asked if we wanted to use this “service.” By unintentionally initiating the process, we are made to be complicit against our will. We are added to the statistic of AI users that contributes to the impression of acceptance and uptake of the technology by the population and, once again, to the justification of the growing need for data centres.

Needless to say, the AI Overview is not always correct but will frequently be taken at face value putting people at risk of harm from false and misleading information. Health professionals are just one of many groups who have expressed concern over misinformation provided by the AI Overview, and have cited numerous examples that could lead to serious health consequences. [9]

This is why we are calling on our representatives to create frameworks and policies that will protect our right to choose our impact as individuals and consumers, and protect our communities and our environment. The AI Overview should be an option not a must. 

Sign the petition and share it with your friends and family.

References