A Malaysian woman criticises the viral AI caricature trend, raising concerns over environmental impact, resource use and unnecessary AI consumption.
ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) has been increasingly utilised by both individuals and corporations to improve efficiency in daily tasks, from generating articles to creating artwork. However, studies have shown that AI use can also pose risks to the environment.
According to the London School of Economics and Political Science, frequent use of AI can potentially contribute to climate change and pollution due to the resources required to build and operate these systems, primarily energy and water.
A Threads user recently sparked discussion about what she described as the unnecessary use of AI, referring to an Instagram trend in which users generate caricature-style artwork of themselves depicting their professions.
In her post, a Malaysian woman vented her frustration over the trend, calling out social media users for participating in it and linking the widespread use of AI to the unbearably hot weather experienced recently.
“Can you all please stop making ugly caricatures on ChatGPT already? It’s so hot, do you know that? I buy a drink and in less than 30 minutes it’s already melted,” she said in her now-viral post.
In the comments, she further stressed that large amounts of resources, such as “fresh and clean water”, were being wasted on such trends. She also pointed out that users could instead support local artists by commissioning them to create artwork.
Many netizens agreed with her views, cautioning against frequent and unnecessary use of AI. Beyond its environmental impact, some users also raised concerns about personal data safety associated with participating in viral AI-generated content trends.
“Can you imagine how much they’re using AI even for basic things, to the point where common sense and critical thinking are becoming extinct — completely gone among them?” one user questioned.
“Yes. It’s just a waste of time and energy to generate stupid things like that. The problem is that many people are driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO). They don’t think about the ecosystem or overall well-being. There’s nothing wrong with using AI, but use it for something beneficial, not to jump on silly trends like that,” another commented.
However, some users noted that AI is not the sole contributor to environmental degradation, pointing out that high internet usage in general also consumes significant resources, including water used as liquid coolants to prevent data centres from overheating.
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