A fascinating article in the Washington Post suggested that robots need to become lazier. The article focuses on the fact that robots are power-hungry and will draw substantial energy since they can operate 24/7. Here is the key focus from the article- “Grappling with power-thirsty robots is difficult and inescapable. Robots in factories- as well as large AI language models – have advanced so far that their promise of easing human labor is in the here and now. But their energy costs are mounting rapidly, and it’s all because of data. Many robots run software or language models stored in the cloud, which drives up data center energy demand. Beyond that, though, robots and AI models share one crucial characteristic: Whether to move around, conduct conversations or solve problems, they function by constantly taking in and computing increasingly vast quantities of data. Data centers worldwide generate only around 1 percent of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. But by 2026, data centers are projected to use double the electricity than they did in 2022 as demand for data processing and computing grows. If the world needs to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency estimates, the carbon footprint of data must halve in the next five years.”

Full opinion : Rethinking AI And Robotics: Emphasizing Efficiency Over Functionality.