This is actually where LLMs save us from scummy human clickbait and shit, I can just ask ChatGPT etc to summarize an article and go on with my life while the AI suffers :')
Whilst the world suffers because more and more let's say "not entirely climate-neutral" data centres are being built beause you were to lazy to read an article you mean.
It depends on so many factors. Reading a long article on your laptop is likely less efficient than letting an LLM summarize it for you and then only reading the summary, while reading the article on your phone would be even more efficient. There are a lot of very contradictory estimations of just how much power, CO2e and water a single prompt consumes, and everyone (myself included) seems to just pick what fits their narrative best.
The data centers are spurring new investment and building of nuclear power plants, which are going to be critical infrastructure for any stable and reliable carbon neutral power generation future, IMHO.
Doesn't have to be a Chernobyl. Fuel leaching into the groundwater works just as well. And nobody has found a way to store those safely without continued maintenance.
We have plenty of solutions for spent fuel storage as well as recycling fuel now. We just have NIMBY folks who protest it because they’re scared of “nuclear”.