Brain Power – How AI Energy Requirements Mimics Human Evolution
As a recovering History and Anthropology major and an incurable analogist, I was recently pondering how the energy requirement to power artificial intelligence was analogous to anthropologists’ observations on how the calorie requirements of our relatively large brains was a constraint in our species’ evolution that needed to be overcome. So, I thought it appropriate to prompt Chat GPT as Follows:
“Discuss how the energy demands of the human brain affected the evolution of the species in terms of food supply, social organization etc.”
With a minimum of editing, this is what I got:
“The human brain, while constituting only about 2% of body weight, consumes approximately 20% of the body’s total energy expenditure. This high energy requirement has had significant implications for the evolution of our species, particularly regarding food supply, social organization, and even cultural development.
To accommodate this high energy demand hominins transitioned from a primarily herbivorous diet to one that included more energy-dense foods which included meat. This meant the advent of hunting and gathering and the development of tools and fire that allowed for a more varied and nutrient-rich diet.
To efficiently hunt and gather food, early humans had to work together. This need for cooperation likely fostered stronger social bonds and the development of complex social structures and language.
As human societies grew, so did the necessity for specialized roles and the division of labor—where different individuals took on specific tasks (e.g., hunting, gathering, child-rearing).
This further led to enhanced cognitive capabilities, driven by the energy-intensive brain, which in turn facilitated the development of even more complex language systems. Effective communication would have been essential for coordinating group activities, sharing knowledge about food sources, and establishing social ties.
In summary, this need for more energy to support an ever-larger brain forced the consumption of more energy-dense foods, which in turn required increased cooperation facilitated by the development of language and complex social structures that make human society unique among the animal world.”
What is interesting is the reference to “energy-dense” foods, “complex language”, cooperation, specialization of labor, etc.
To provide energy (electricity) to these AI data centers (brains) that are running large complex language models, we need energy-dense sources of electric power the delivery of which will require coordination and cooperation among all parts of a complex economy/society, especially among businesses, governments, regulators and voters.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Brain Power – How AI Energy Requirements Mimics Human Evolution
As a recovering History and Anthropology major and an incurable analogist, I was recently pondering how the energy requirement to power artificial intelligence was analogous to anthropologists’ observations on how the calorie requirements of our relatively large brains was a constraint in our species’ evolution that needed to be overcome. So, I thought it appropriate to prompt Chat GPT as Follows:
“Discuss how the energy demands of the human brain affected the evolution of the species in terms of food supply, social organization etc.”
With a minimum of editing, this is what I got:
“The human brain, while constituting only about 2% of body weight, consumes approximately 20% of the body’s total energy expenditure. This high energy requirement has had significant implications for the evolution of our species, particularly regarding food supply, social organization, and even cultural development.
To accommodate this high energy demand hominins transitioned from a primarily herbivorous diet to one that included more energy-dense foods which included meat. This meant the advent of hunting and gathering and the development of tools and fire that allowed for a more varied and nutrient-rich diet.
To efficiently hunt and gather food, early humans had to work together. This need for cooperation likely fostered stronger social bonds and the development of complex social structures and language.
As human societies grew, so did the necessity for specialized roles and the division of labor—where different individuals took on specific tasks (e.g., hunting, gathering, child-rearing).
This further led to enhanced cognitive capabilities, driven by the energy-intensive brain, which in turn facilitated the development of even more complex language systems. Effective communication would have been essential for coordinating group activities, sharing knowledge about food sources, and establishing social ties.
In summary, this need for more energy to support an ever-larger brain forced the consumption of more energy-dense foods, which in turn required increased cooperation facilitated by the development of language and complex social structures that make human society unique among the animal world.”
What is interesting is the reference to “energy-dense” foods, “complex language”, cooperation, specialization of labor, etc.
To provide energy (electricity) to these AI data centers (brains) that are running large complex language models, we need energy-dense sources of electric power the delivery of which will require coordination and cooperation among all parts of a complex economy/society, especially among businesses, governments, regulators and voters.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Cue: Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra.”
Happy New Year.