I am a last-year data science major at university who initially joined because of AI's exciting potential across numerous industries. However, after learning about multiple companies backtracking on their AI use on their platforms and cutting back on their data center expansions, I can't help but think that something is very wrong behind closed doors. I came to understand that the demand for AI is slowly decreasing in some areas and increasing exponentially in others. To me, it seems every major industry "needs" AI to make life easier, yet is backtracking when it doesn't perform the way they want it to.
My concerns revolve around how unpredictable AI's usage is. If I get involved in an industry that actively destroys land, water, and other resources, I would hope that the environmental costs will be outweighed by the benefits everyone sees from AI. However, with the economic trend of AI's value decreasing for companies that initially went all in on it, I can't help but feel like I'm actively destroying the planet.
Does anyone have any suggestions or moral redemption for me? I want to jump ship before the big explosion, but I'll stay if there's great potential for growth with AI.
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