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At the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference, Michelle Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino," offered this judgment: although the warning that AI could drive humans extinct within a decade is alarmist, if only such a warning can wake Americans up, then so be it. She also noted that more than 100 data centers have already been built in the United States, with over 1,000 more planned, consuming about 5% of the U.S. power grid and driving up electricity prices; she further cited a survey in which only 7% of more than 6,000 executives surveyed considered AI helpful. Reporting from the same event also mentioned that she warned that the expansion of hyperscale investment in the AI sector will bring risks to the environment, capital, and finance, and cited an IMF report warning of the financial stability risks posed by AI. At present, this judgment is presented through the cross-referencing of two Sina Tech reports, and there are no subsequent factual developments.
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Oct 21
Sina Tech
Michele Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino": The more you use AI, the more forgetful you become, and your brain will degrade
Michele Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino," warned at the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference that AI consumes far more energy than the human brain, and cited MIT Media Lab research saying that after people use ChatGPT they become more forgetful and their brains tend to weaken. She also noted that U.S. data centers already account for about 5% of the power grid's electricity consumption, and cited a survey saying that of more than 6,000 executives interviewed, only 7% thought AI was helpful, while about 70% thought it was not.
Sina Tech
Michele Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino": The warning that AI will exterminate humanity is exaggerated, but it can wake Americans up
Michele Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino", said at the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference that the warning that AI could exterminate humanity within a decade, though alarmist, is acceptable if that is the only way to wake Americans up. She noted that more than 100 data centers have already been built in the United States, with over 1,000 more planned, consuming about 5% of the U.S. power grid and driving up electricity prices; she also cited a survey in which only 7% of more than 6,000 executives surveyed believed AI was helpful.
Sina Tech
"Gray Rhino" author Wucker: Super-scale expansion of AI investment will bring danger
Michelle Wucker, author of "The Gray Rhino," warned at the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference that the super-scale expansion of investment in the AI sector will pose risks to the environment, capital, and finance. Citing data, she said that more than 100 data centers have already been completed in the United States, with more than 1,000 more planned, and that they consume about 5% of the U.S. power grid; in one survey of more than 6,000 executives, only 7% believed AI was helpful. She cited an IMF report warning that AI brings financial stability risks, and mentioned Morgan Stanley's forecast that global AI infrastructure investment is expected to exceed $1 trillion by the end of the year and reach $7 trillion by 2030.