Latest news with #KateCrawford
Forbes
21-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Material Needs of Artificial Intelligence Eclipsed by Energy Debates
Artificial Intelligence technologies will require a range of neglected materials President Trump attended an important summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and concomitant energy infrastructure at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on July 15th, 2025. Major investments were announced by Google and Blackstone investment to build data centers and hydroelectric dams in Pennsylvania to power the AI economy for the region. Missing from the conversations was the material needs for AI technologies that could be just as serious resource constraint to upscaling the use of these technologies. While there is much talk of critical minerals for defense and for clean energy infrastructure, the material needs of AI are not as prominently discussed. Concerns about energy intensity dominate debates about AI. Carbon emissions estimates have also been researched by Google researchers using Life Cycle Analysis techniques, but the materiality of AI infrastructure has not been well-researched. In her prominent book Atlas of AI, renowned Microsoft researcher and academic Kate Crawford documents the vast extractive needs of AI but notes that detailed analysis of materials that will be needed has been sparse. Part of the challenge is the secrecy around AI hardware material needs. At a recent colloquium on critical materials for AI hosted by Professor Alondra Nelson at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton New Jersey, researchers lamented that confidentiality concerns often prevented forensic accounting of material needs for AI. Where estimates are available, they are often focused on the material needs for the electricity infrastructure needed for data centers. For example, the Wall Street Journal did a story earlier this year on the copper metal needs for AI but focused on the energy infrastructure needs. The article cited JP Morgan forecasts which suggested that the copper needed for AI energy supply would require another 2.6 million tons of copper adding to the projected 4-million-ton projected metal deficit by 2030. There was a reference to a Bank of America study in the article which differentiated the material needs of the data centers themselves at around 200,000 metric tons a year compared with 500,000 tons annually for energy infrastructure. Yet these are only estimates for one metal. Gallium has gained some interest in recent years because of its high-performance potential in AI chips but systematic estimates of upscaling supply are limited. Journalists and academics alike also conflate material needs due to a lack of understanding of the chemistry of these technologies. For example, lithium is largely needed for batteries that are not necessarily an AI infrastructure issue but can get conflated in discussions on any novel technological entity. Indium and arsenic will also be needed for refined chip technologies but there are no clear estimates of projected demand. Similarly, germanium demand is expected to increase with AI infrastructure but only rough estimates of 60% growth by 2034 are available via consulting firms with no peer-reviewed research on demand growth linked to particular targets for AI penetration in various technologies. High purity alumina is another key material for AI technologies which also presents important opportunities for innovation in deriving the material from a range of existing material stocks. Australia is going to be a key provider of this material and has recently started construction of the world's largest factory for its production in Gladstone, Queensland. Quantum computing may also take on many roles of conventional AI processors in coming years. While many of the metals needed for this infrastructure may be similar, there are some notable additions of materials such as boron and ytterbium which are also specifically more well-suited for quantum computing technologies. Superconductors with a range of exotic material needs are essential for quantum computing. These materials also operate only at lower temperature ranges and hence additional infrastructure for cooling would be needed above and beyond what is already needed for data centers. As momentum builds towards international governance of AI and the findings of the U.N. Secretary General's High Level Advisory Board on Artificial Intelligence get implemented, a sharp focus on material forecasts is needed. Scenarios for mineral demand which are linked to specific upscaling targets of countries for AI infrastructure should be developed. Based on those scenarios, a prioritization of those tasks for which AI has most societal benefit should be developed. In some cases, AI could itself assist with material efficiency. In coming years research have a highly consequential area for inquiry set before them on figuring out optimal material usage profile for AI technologies and how they might transform both our physical and social reality.
Wales Online
22-04-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
'I thought symptoms were just being a mum so cancer spread for three years'
'I thought symptoms were just being a mum so cancer spread for three years' Doctors told Kate she had sciatica and she wasn't offered an x-ray Kate Crawford initially blamed her tiredness and other minor symptoms on her busy life as a mother of three very young children (Image: Cover Images ) A young mum who was told she was suffering from sciatica by doctors was later diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Kate Crawford initially blamed her tiredness and other minor symptoms on her busy life as a mother of three very young children. By the time she was diagnosed the disease had been silently spreading through her body for two to three years, leaving her no choice but to have radical treatment. 'If the doctor had just done an x-ray, he would've seen I had cancer,' she says. 'One day, I was a 28-year-old mum of babies, and the next, I was being told I might not be here much longer. I didn't know what to look for. I just thought I was tired because I was a new mum. But it wasn't just exhaustion - I was feeling excessively tired all the time, I had constant belly issues, a nagging cough that wouldn't go away, and pain in my bones that never seemed to improve. 'There were changes in my breasts that I didn't recognise as warning signs, bruises that didn't go away, and skin issues that I brushed off. I honestly thought I was just rundown. If I had been more educated in the signs, I might have been able to better advocate for myself. It may be too late for me, but it's not for you. If something doesn't feel right, please don't ignore it.' She immediately started aggressive treatment; harsh chemotherapy, targeted therapies like Herceptin and Perjeta, and a shot of Xgeva to help with bone metastases. Now 41, Kate has had 200 plus treatments including a double mastectomy and spent nearly a third of her life in a relentless battle for survival. Her husband Steve has been constantly at her side along with their children, twins Grace and Lily, now 16, and Stephen, 15. She says Steve is her anchor. At times her treatment has been far from straightforward. She has had allergic reactions, heart failure and even developed early-stage lung disease. Article continues below Kate and her children 'Whenever my heart isn't doing well, I have to stop Herceptin and then the cancer starts growing again,' she explains. 'It's just this really crazy cycle.' Kate has kept fighting, adapting her life around the three week treatment cycle and her changing body. 'A stage 4 diagnosis means treatment for life and side effects for life,' she says. 'When one thing pops up, you just have to deal with it. Take it one step at a time. That time lets me relax and unwind. It reminds me to look for the glimmers.' She concentrates on small joys - from floating in a lake on a calm day, laughing with her kids, or discovering a new jumper that fits just right. 'I just want to keep making memories with my family. That's all I've ever wanted,' she says. She shares her life on TikTok with humour and brutal honesty about the challenges cancer patients face every day. One video shows her trying on swimwear post-mastectomy and struggling to find any that fit just right. 'I've never tried to sugarcoat my life, but people forget the daily struggles,' she says. 'We hide a lot, not for ourselves but to make others feel better.' She warns against toxic positivity. 'It's ok to feel not ok. You don't always have to be the brave, stoic cancer patient,' she says. 'You can be mad, bitter, sad and still be full of love. That is perfectly ok. Kate Crawford 'Getting diagnosed with cancer is like jumping into a big metaphorical lake full of other cancer patients. We're all in there together, but we can't help each other. We carefully tread water, but we get tired. Sometimes we barely hang on. People cheer from the shore. Some get rescued. Others stay. Some never make it out.' Article continues below Kate works as a social media manager and family support specialist at One Day to Remember, a nonprofit close to her heart. 'They provide solace and unforgettable experiences to families affected by cancer. The emotional trauma these families go through is staggering,' she says. 'But One Day to Remember makes sure they get to experience joy - even in the most challenging times.' And despite a terminal diagnosis, Kate is still full of life. Her message is clear: You are never too young to get cancer. And sometimes, what feels like exhaustion or a stubborn cough can be something more serious. 'I didn't know the signs,' she says. 'That's what I want people to take away from this. Know your body. Don't ignore your gut. It might just save your life.'
