AI's dirty secret

+ How females from some species can reproduce without males͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ US Edition - Today's top story: It takes a lot of energy for machines to learn – here's why AI is so power-hungry [View in browser]( US Edition | 15 December 2020 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair It’s convenient to have Alexa do your routine shopping and Siri answer your trivia questions, but training the artificial intelligences that power those services takes a lot of electricity – and most of that electricity still comes from fossil fuels. Boston University computer scientist Kate Saenko explains [why AI is more energy-intensive]( than “dumb” services like email, why the problem is getting worse and what can be done about it. Also today: - [New research on plastic pipes and fires]( - [How some students of color persist in STEM]( - [5 questions about vaccines, answered]( Eric Smalley Science and Technology Editor Data centers like this Google facility in Iowa use copious amounts of electricity. Chad Davis/Flickr [It takes a lot of energy for machines to learn – here’s why AI is so power-hungry]( Kate Saenko, Boston University Training neural networks burns through a lot of energy. As the AI field grows, it's working to keep its carbon foot print from growing with it. Health + Medicine - [The coronavirus vaccine: A doctor answers 5 questions]( Jason R. McKnight, Texas A&M University As the coronavirus rages, a vaccine finally is available for certain groups of people and will soon be ready for other groups. But there are plenty of questions. A doctor answers five here. - [Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires – it’s a risk in urban fires, too]( Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University; Amisha Shah, Purdue University; Kristofer P. Isaacson, Purdue University A new study shows how toxic chemicals like benzene are leaching into water systems after nearby fires. The pipes don't have to burn – they just have to heat up. - [What vaccine distribution planners can learn from Amazon and Walmart]( Tinglong Dai, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing; Christopher S. Tang, University of California, Los Angeles COVID-19 vaccines have very specific storage requirements that make shipping a difficult task. Two ideas – fulfillment centers and cross-docking – could help overcome some distribution challenges. Education - [Racial stereotypes drive students of color away from STEM, but many still persist]( Ebony O. McGee, Vanderbilt University Coping with racial stereotypes that permeate STEM culture is like having another full-time job, argues a researcher who studies racism in these fields. Economy + Business - [COVID-19 further exposes inequalities in the global financial system]( Ramya Vijaya, Stockton University Global economic policy excludes low-income countries from the spending options that developed nations use to buffer their economies in times of crisis, and the pandemic has inflamed that inequality. Science + Technology - [Virgin births from parthenogenesis: How females from some species can reproduce without males]( Mercedes Burns, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Parthenogenesis, a form of reproduction in which an egg develops into an embryo without being fertilized by sperm, might be more common than you realized. Politics/Election '20 - [Ancient Greek desire to resolve civil strife resonates today – but Athenian justice would be a ‘bitter pill’ in modern America]( Joel Christensen, Brandeis University Homer and Aeschylus turned to the divine to write their happy endings. But no gods are conspiring above the US, ready to swoop down and save humankind from itself. Ethics + Religion - [Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh fear their medieval churches will be destroyed]( Christina Maranci, Tufts University A peace deal brokered by Russia ended the war on Nov. 9, but the rich architectural heritage of the region is still at risk. From our international editions - [Tasmanian devils look set to conquer their own pandemic]( Hamish McCallum, Griffith University; Austin H. Patton, University of California, Berkeley Ten years ago, we feared Tasmanian devils would be wiped out by a bizarre infectious facial cancer transmitted by biting. But new genetic analysis shows they are evolving to live with the disease. - [Exploring the Indian Ocean as a rich archive of history – above and below the water line]( Isabel Hofmeyr, University of the Witwatersrand; Charne Lavery, University of Pretoria The Indian Ocean provides a new way of looking at world history that has been dominated by European accounts. - [Venus was once more Earth-like, but climate change made it uninhabitable]( Richard Ernst, Carleton University A severe climate change event on Venus may have transformed an Earth-like climate to the current uninhabitable-to-humans state. You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451