Comment by breuleux
3 days ago
Well, that depends. Very inefficient code tends to only be used when absolutely needed. If an LLM becomes ten times faster at answering simple prompts, it may very well be used a hundred times more as a result, in which case electricity use will go up, not down. Efficiency gains commonly result in doing way more with more, not more with less.
Correct. This is also known as a rebound effect [1], or, specifically with regard to technological improvements, as the Jevons paradox [2].
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebound_effect_(conservation)
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox
Indeed, that is a common occurrence that called Jevons Paradox.