TL;DR
A December 2025 Substack post argues that critiques of AI framed around resource use ring hollow when voiced by people who built extractive tech systems. The author agrees there are environmental and social harms but says the deeper problem is a professional class that has commodified human connection.
What happened
On December 28, 2025, a post on the Pretty Good Blog pushed back against recent public complaints from technology insiders about AI’s resource consumption — references include concerns about water tables, electricity and natural resources. The author says these criticisms, when voiced by engineers, SREs, product managers and other industry figures who built advertising-driven platforms and large server fleets, lack credibility. Rather than focusing only on efficiency or reduced resource use, the post frames the dispute as one about values: the writer contends that much of modern tech has actively eroded human connection and turned creative expression into a commodity. Large language models are presented in the piece as the latest stage of that trend, enabling the replacement of human-generated content. The essay is explicitly polemical and signals the author intends to publish fewer angry posts in the near future.
Why it matters
- It reframes debates about AI from a technical/environmental lens to a question of values and intent among technology professionals.
- If accurate, the argument suggests resource-efficiency fixes alone would not address concerns about the social effects of AI and platform design.
- The piece spotlights tensions between public criticism from industry insiders and their prior roles in creating large-scale, attention-driven systems.
- Discussion about AI therefore intersects with broader questions of privacy, commercialization of communication, and the preservation of human expression.
Key facts
- The essay was published on Pretty Good Blog on December 28, 2025.
- The author identifies the post as a polemic and uses a confrontational tone to challenge critics from within tech.
- The piece responds directly to publicized complaints about AI's water and energy use by internet-famous and less-famous technology figures.
- The author argues those critics helped build the infrastructure and platforms now implicated in social and environmental harm.
- Large language models (LLMs) are described in the post as enabling the substitution of human-created content with machine-generated output.
- The writer accepts that AI technologies can be wasteful and harmful but says resource concerns do not address the underlying value issues.
- Rob Pike is referenced in the essay as an illustrative name the author uses to make a broader point about industry voices.
- The post signals a temporary pause in similarly angry posts and promises future writing of a more positive tone.
What to watch next
- Not confirmed in the source: whether the industry critics who raised resource concerns will address the author’s charge of hypocrisy.
- Not confirmed in the source: whether AI companies will shift emphasis from efficiency to the cultural or ethical impacts of model use.
- Not confirmed in the source: any forthcoming policy or community responses explicitly prompted by this essay.
Quick glossary
- Large language model (LLM): A machine learning model trained on large amounts of text to generate or predict language output.
- SRE (Site Reliability Engineering): An engineering discipline focused on maintaining and scaling the reliability and performance of software systems.
- Commodification: The process of treating something that has intrinsic social or cultural value as a product to be bought, sold or monetized.
- Polemic: A strongly worded argument or attack on a particular opinion, position or individual.
Reader FAQ
Who wrote the piece?
The essay appears on Pretty Good Blog and is attributed to its author identified as Joshua.
Is the author denying environmental harms of AI?
No — the author acknowledges waste and environmental harm but argues those concerns are insufficient without addressing core value issues.
Does the author reject all uses of AI?
The post notes there are legitimate uses of LLMs but does not explore them in detail in this piece.
Will the author continue this angry tone?
The writer says this will be the last 'ANGERY GRRR' post for some time and plans to publish more positive writing later.
Shut Up About the Water We don't deserve to claim to care DEC 28, 2025 2 2 1 Share Merry Christmas! This post is overflowing with the opposite of the…
Sources
- Shut Up About the Water
- #OMN (Open Media Network) – Hamish Campbell an …
- they watch and wonder public attitudes toward
- “It just works” — the three stages of technological …
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