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(gorodenkoff / iStock) |
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Patty Wetli: One of the big news stories earlier this week was the Chicago Sun-Times’ publication of a syndicated insert that contained content generated by artificial intelligence. Fake content, as it turned out, with AI compiling a summer reading list full of books that don’t exist.
I imagine the incident sparked some interesting conversations in newsrooms across the country, but really, everyone needs to be taking a hard look at their use of generative AI. I’ve written about this before, but honestly, I don’t think it’s an issue we’re examining closely enough.
It’s a tricky subject, because frankly, a lot of us don’t know what we’re talking about. What exactly is AI? What exactly is “the cloud?” Most of us have no idea how any of this stuff works: We type a question or speak a command and the answer arrives on a screen, seemingly out of thin air.
But it’s not thin air. It’s information produced from computational models, models that are run on hardware housed in giant data centers — servers, data storage drives, etc. — all of which requires power.
Whenever you ask ChatGPT to compose an email, imagine you hear gears whirring. That’s the computing hardware running the model to spit out your email. Which you could write yourself, but why bother, right? Only chumps (like your favorite nature reporter) compose their own sentences anymore.
But that email query used up five times more electricity than a typical web search, according to a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And I know, most of us really don’t know where electricity comes from either. We flip a switch, push a button and it’s just there.
Again, per MIT: “The pace at which companies are building new data centers means the bulk of the electricity to power them must come from fossil fuel-based power plants.” On top of that, data centers require chilled water to cool the computing equipment, which would otherwise overheat from all the machine learning it takes to write your emails.
As our new friends at MIT explain: “Just because this is called ‘cloud computing’ doesn’t mean the hardware lives in the cloud. Data centers are present in our physical world, and because of their water usage they have direct and indirect implications for biodiversity.”
To sum up: AI uses more electricity, which burns more fossil fuel, and consumes massive amounts of water. We should all be asking ourselves: Is it worth it? |
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Protesters march along Dearborn Street on May 30, 2020. (Evan Garcia / WTTW News) |
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It’s been nearly five years since George Floyd was murdered. The 46-year old Black father of five was arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a Minneapolis convenience store, prompting one of four police officers on the scene to kneel on Floyd’s neck and back for more than nine minutes, asphyxiating him.
Nationwide protests erupted in the summer of 2020, a so-called racial reckoning, shortly after a video of the killing surfaced online. Residents took to the streets demanding systemic change to policing and the prison system. While some police departments have enacted reforms, that progress is now threatened under the Trump administration’s agenda to retract Biden-era initiatives.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it would do away with federal oversight of police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville and began the process of dismissing investigations in those cities and others — going back on previous DOJ findings about alleged constitutional violations from police departments. Chicago’s consent decree will remain intact as it doesn’t involve the DOJ.
Some locals, like University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman, worry about what precedent is being set by top officials.
“I am concerned on a national level,” said Futterman, who founded the Civil Rights and Police Accountability clinic. “What’s happening in the rest of the country cannot happen here, but it sends a message that people elsewhere will not be protected.”
GoodKids MadCity founder Kofi Ademola is pushing for funds allocated to policing to be reallocated to community-based violence-prevention groups like the one he runs.
“Our system is dysfunctional and impunitive and racist,” said Ademola. “We need to tear down systems of incarceration and build systems that actually hold people accountable.”
Austin’s Police District (15th) has been cultivating partnerships with the community for the last few decades, especially at BUILD. Bradly Johnson, chief community officer of the West Side-based violence-prevention organization, helps cultivate those relationships while teaching “know your rights” workshops to young people in Chicago.
“Seeing the George Floyd video hurt me because I saw myself, I saw my son, I saw the young people that I work with, and that impacted me greatly,” said Johnson. |
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(Jovanmandic / Stock) |
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In the two years after George Floyd’s murder, nearly 1,400 Fortune 1000 companies pledged a total of $340 billion toward fighting racial injustice, according to a 2023 analysis by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility. About 40% of companies made statements in support of racial justice, while 30% made external commitments to promote racial equity in economic opportunities. But today, many companies are dropping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives they loudly launched five years ago.
President Donald Trump signed several executive orders at the start of his term, one of which targets federal funding for DEI initiatives, claiming the programs are “illegal” practices. Walmart’s five-year $100 million commitment created its Center for Racial Equity with a mandate to “address the root causes of gaps in outcomes experienced by Black and African American people in education, health, finance and criminal justice systems.” However, last November, Walmart released a statement announcing changes in its policy including no longer using the term DEI in job titles and communications, opting instead to begin using the word “belonging.” Several other companies like Ford, Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Target have also eliminated DEI initiatives.
While the uptick in DEI abandonment seems recent, the retaliation gained momentum in June 2023, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to abolish affirmative action commitments in colleges, setting a legal precedent to oppose DEI practices in the workplace as well as higher education. |
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Back in the Day: May 23, 2010 - Chicago Blackhawks Executives Take No Action Regarding Coach’s Sexual Misconduct |
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In the fall of 2021, the Chicago Blackhawks were fined $2 million by the National Hockey League for “inadequate internal procedures and insufficient and untimely response” to allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2010 by their former video coach, Brad Aldrich. The league banned longtime coach Joel Quenneville and executives Stan Bowman and Al MacIsaac (which was lifted last year). As the team was entering the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2010, the video coach had been accused of sexual assault by a player. On this day 15 years ago, team executives and coaches gathered to discuss the alleged incidents and how the team should respond. Instead of firing the coach and taking necessary disciplinary action, they took no action and instead focused on the team’s playoff run. Aldrich left the team in the offseason after he celebrated with the Stanley Cup. He would later coach a high school team in Michigan and in February of 2014 was sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in a case involving one of his teenage players. In 2023, Aldrich was accused of sexual assault by another former player. Two weeks ago, the Anaheim Ducks hired Joel Quenneville as their head coach. |
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Nature Calls: This Week’s Outdoorsy Events and Activities |
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Every Friday, WTTW News science and nature reporter Patty Wetli highlights the best ways to get outside.
Just in time for summer, Cook County forest preserves unveiled 13 all-terrain wheelchairs, which will be stationed across the county at nature centers and campgrounds. “Our 70,000 acres of natural lands are a shared resource that belongs to all of us, and it should be accessible to everyone,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. The chairs can be requested on a first-come first-served basis.
With the long weekend ahead, we’ve included some nature options a little further afield.
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Starved Rock and Illinois Beach are the most-visited state parks in Illinois. Try working your way down the list and check out Rock Cut State Park or the Hennepin Canal State Trail.
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We’re a little late to this party, but Indiana Dunes National Park has been running ranger-led hikes every Saturday since April as part of its 1966 Hiking Challenge — 19 hikes covering 66 miles of trail, celebrating the park’s founding in 1966. This weekend’s hike tackles the 3.4-mile Miller Woods (Paul Douglas) Trail, stepping off at 8 a.m. Saturday.
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Step back in time and travel the I&M Canal the way it was intended — via a mule-powered 1840s-replica boat. Tours last 60 to 90 minutes; tickets can be purchased online or in-person. Tours set out from LaSalle, Ill., near the I&M Canal Visitor Center.
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The McHenry County Conservation District is kicking off its Find Your Wild challenge on Saturday, running through Labor Day. Visit the district’s natural areas, complete fun outdoor activities, collect points and earn prizes.
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The Chicago Parks Foundation is leading weekly wellness walk-and-talks at Promontory Point, Saturdays at 9:15-10 a.m. Medical experts will discuss health-related topics while naturalist guides point out local biodiversity. Registration is required.
ICYMI: Chicago’s beaches are open! |
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What’s your favorite Chicago-area farmers market? Let us know and tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. Here's what you had to say:
"Evanston Farmer’s Market" —@colorbird78
"The Oak Park Farmers Market, across from OPRF." —@itsGrantCulp |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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