Officials Fear Rolling AI Blackouts.
Officials fear they may need to implement rolling AI blackouts in the distant future, à la rolling power blackouts—that is, “à la” in the sense of “in the style or manner of,” not “Allah,” the Arabic term for God.
As the AI frontier stampedes across the landscape like herds of buffalo on the plains in the 1800s—and likely long before—concerns about water usage and power consumption continue to grow. To get ahead of the problem and prepare for what many see as inevitable, officials are now organizing plans for anticipated AI blackouts.
Mariam Webster – Not related to the dictionary people
Mariam Webster, the lead official who briefed the press on these preparations, said the plan focuses on two fronts: energy usage and water usage. She explained that during rolling AI blackouts, the government will ask the public to do two things.
“First, regarding power usage: when we declare an AI blackout,” Ms. Webster said, “we will ask patriotic citizens—and others—to refrain briefly from using search tools like Copilot and Grok. Instead, consider pulling out your parents’ or grandparents’ old Webster dictionary.” (Mariam Webster has no relation to, and holds no interest in, the Webster Dictionary.) She added, “If you happen to have an Encyclopedia Britannica sitting on the shelf next to it, go ahead and use that as well.”
Dump water down the drain and flush twice
Ms. Webster continued, “Second—and this is no less important—when we put an AI blackout into place, we’ll ask all Americans, both good and bad,” she said with a slight smirk, “to flush twice when using the restroom, drink only half a glass of water, and pour the rest down the drain.” She based this reasoning on the fact that many AI data centers draw water from wastewater flows, and reduced flushing could contribute to shortages when demand spikes.
This reporter finds it exciting to see the government planning for the future.
This reporter doesn't know who this is. Nor does this reporter know who the guy in the uniform is, but feels they should be included in the article. Because they kinda scare this member of the fourth estate.
