A Much Better Use of Fuel Than Slop
Something positive for a change:
In recent years a lot of the so-called "cloud" industry shrewdly rebranded for fake "novelty" and phony "growth". Pay attention to terms like "hey hi datacentres" or "ML workloads" (anything to that effect). Same thing, evolving buzzwords.
Unless the latest war ends very, very soon (like this week or next week), which sadly seems improbable, there will be critical shortages of energy in the West as reserves dry up. They cannot last very long and they're reserved for critical operations (such as defence and hospitals). Then, the so-called 'AI industry' will collapse very fast.
Energy does not grow on trees (take nothing for granted!) and even cars that don't consume fossil fuels rely on power plants. Whether coal-based or something else, these power plants are already facing a lot of strain from the slop so-called 'industry' (which only ever shows giant losses). The US is not self-sufficient for energy, this is just a myth; regardless, the price of energy will go up - to the point where many people and businesses cannot carry on (whether the energy is produced domestically or not won't matter to them).
Consider this:
8 hours ago in more "mainstream" media:
Even if some proactive people hoard fuel in plastic/metal containers (there are reportedly severe aluminium shortages this year), it won't last long and it's already too late (prices rose fast without prior notice). Regardless, the slop so-called 'industry' does not have its own (private) oil reserves and when energy becomes scarce there will be pressure from local communities to literally switch off the nearby datacentres; they're not a priority.
Contrariwise, a moon mission delivers relatively good value for money and energy. The public wants to see some human progress and achievement through spectacles. It can be delivered by Easter Monday.
"Astronauts could break record for farthest humans have travelled from Earth," our media said an hour ago.
Let's wait and hope. █