Today, when large language models (LLMs) are driving the pursuit of artificial intelligence (AI), or artificial general intelligence (AGI) to rival human intelligence, it appears that the solutions we are seeking are similar to covering the earth with leather in order to keep your feet clean.
https://theprint.in/opinion/ai-pause-natural-thought/2938484/
OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which, a few months ago, reported having over 700 million daily users, requires – according to an IEEE report – 850 Mw of power daily – or 310 Gw annually. That’s more than India’s total non-fossil-fuel-based power capacity of 263 Gw. And this is only one LLM we are talking of. There are literally scores of LLMs being created, often using text and data sourced from the internet, often without paying licence fees to those who created the content in the first place.
The rush to invest endless amounts in AI has gotten so mad, that no one is stopping to think about its consequences for society. Many observers have pointed out obvious issues, but no one is really listening.
First, note the pace of change. The motor car or washing machine took decades to reach one million users – enough time for those threatened with disruption to learn new skills or professions. ChatGPT reached a million users in five days.
LLMs and agentic AI tools may not yet be threatening existing jobs wholesale, but as newer versions and AI agents replace human coding skills, they will certainly constrain new job creation, and ultimately threaten existing jobs. Consider the huge destruction of market valuations in software services companies with the mere introduction of Anthropic’s Claude Cowork. Human populations, especially those above a certain age, cannot upskill to keep up with that kind of pace of change.
AI will ultimately dumb down human ability, unless we make a deliberate choice to not allow it to do so in certain areas. If PhD scholars, students, and ordinary folks think all the answers to questions, or basic research work, can be done by asking Google Gemini or ChatGPT or the Chinese DeepSeek, we will stop using human skills to seek better answers. All answers will be the canned ones provided by AI algorithms, including bad answers. To prevent this from happening, those who have to check for integrity will use more AI tools to detect automated work. The Supreme Court recently pulled up a junior judge for citing fake judgments using AI.
22/05/2026