Doctora Malka Older: universal basic electricity minimum for every human on the planet before AI gets another milliwatt.

universal basic electricity minimum for every human on the planet before AI gets another milliwatt.

Millions in Nigeria have little to no electricity. It's straining businesses and public services

Millions in Nigeria have little to no electricity. It's straining businesses and public servicesapnews.com The lack of reliable electricity severely affects education and businesses in Nigeria. Schools like Excellent Moral in Ibadan, near Lagos, operate in darkness due to zero grid access, depriving students of essential tools like computers.

This, although I assume a lot of this is the need to build out better infrastructure. Africa needs more solar. They have the climate for it!

yep, and we should be building out that infrastructure - and making it modular as much as possible - before AI gets another milliwatt

Part of why I like solar for those places. Modular, localized, at least somewhat independent of the main grid. Particularly for small villages in the middle of nowhere (really for small villages in the middle of nowhere *anywhere*).

The box should be source-agnostic. Being able to plug in a windmill, biomass-burner Stirling engine (backup), or in extremis, a bicycle seems to be the way to go. Especially since the mostly-electromechanical portions can be maintained by a local machine shop or small engine mechanic.

Unfortunate sclerosis of a petrostate. The generators enabled by cheap petroleum deferred investment in a robust grid. Now that cheap petroleum is gone, the lack of infrastructure is apparent.

Right...and my solution remains the same. Help people afford solar ;).

It's not just affording solar but affording the charging infrastructure, and also having it secured enough that it won't be stolen by e.g.: Boko Haram (especially in the case of powering schools)

*nodnods* I didn't say it was cheap or easy, but I hold to it being the best solution for very remote areas that need local power generation.

This. Community got some $ together to buy fans and window unit ACs for low-income elderly and disabled folks near my workplace. Electrical systems in old apartment complexes couldn't handle it. Not safe to open windows for air in ground-floor apts. in high crime area.

Pre-1970s wiring and pre-energy crisis insulation make heat (or lack therof) a nightmare to deal with. I saw so many structural wiring fires as a forensic engineer in the wake of cold snaps and heat waves...

Nothing to do with AI. Talking about faraway countries, beware of potential biases.

Yeah, the problem, as I understand it, is grift and political corruption stopping proper infrastructure.

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