AI is increasingly becoming a part of our everyday lives. It is embedded in many of the digital systems we rely on, and even a casual Google search will often utilise an AI model.
But despite feeling immaterial, AI relies on very real resources to function. AI data centers, where information is processed, are water and electricity hungry, and risk starving the communities where they are located of already precious materials.
At YEFest we try, where we can, to minimise our AI use. You will never catch us asking an AI model for help in drafting material, for example. While we appreciate the benefits that AI can have when used responsibly, we also believe it is not something to be taken lightly.
So, when writing your application and developing your event, we ask you to think critically before using AI, and maybe seek to understand the places in your digital life where it already plays a role.
Together, we can try to make our festival of the environment as gentle on the earth as possible. Thank you.