I'm looking forward to tuning into Limits 2022 today where I can:
Glad to learn in the first session that there's a name for the phenomena where new efficiencies in and of themselves don't provide a path to sustainability:
Another theme that popped up in a few talks today was designing with the idea of Intermittent Computing, where a computational system runs when it has collected enough energy from its environment to do something, after which it turns off to recharge:
https://cmuabstract.github.io/intermittence_tutorial/
Also the use of Supercapacitors to buffer energy, since they don't wear out like batteries when used:
& speaking of designing with Intermittent Computing Alex Nathanson gave a super presentation about the Solar Protocol, a global installation that routes web traffic to servers that are currently powered by sunlight.
Paper: https://computingwithinlimits.org/2022/papers/limits22-final-Brain.pdf
Website: http://solarprotocol.net/
Some of the participants I spoke with had just come from the International Conference on ICT for Sustainability, which apparently grew to ~200 people this year (from around ~50). Another venue to keep on the radar:
https://networkdee.org/news/8th-international-conference-on-ict-for-sustainability/
@edsu this all seems fabulous
Here are 6 design prompts that have guided the Solar Protocol project's work:
1. Make Energy Data Public
2. Design Energy Responsive Systems
3. Account for Where Computational Work Happens
4. Acknowledge Intermittency
5. Use Planetary Limits as Logic
6. Question Resolution (not defaulting to energy intensive designs)