Rebecca Shaw Blasts Generative AI for Wasting Water and Poisoning 1 of the Internet’s Last Joys
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 9
Rebecca Shaw Blasts Generative AI for Wasting Water and Poisoning 1 of the Internet’s Last Joys
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 9
Summary
Rebecca Shaw argues generative AI has crossed a line by turning even harmless online pleasures—especially cute animal videos—into objects of suspicion rather than delight.
Litres of water used for routine prompts sit at the center of her case: she says AI relies on massive, water-hungry datacentres while droughts worsen and many people still lack clean water.
Shaw also says the technology erodes human inventiveness by encouraging people to outsource thinking, writing and creativity to systems she sees as inauthentic and unnecessary.
Cute videos become her sharpest example of the broader damage: AI-made clips and constant doubt over what is real, she writes, have spoiled even genuine moments online.
Her wider conclusion is that books, songs, films and internet culture are worth preserving precisely because they come from human effort, feeling and real life rather than machine output.