Chapter 2-8 Electronic Devices / Sustainable Society Prout Village Third Edition

 

○AI

Most current AI (Artificial Intelligence) systems use GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), which are chips designed for massively parallel high-speed computation. GPUs also use rare metals, and the following summarizes the main sustainability issues related to AI GPUs.

Main Issues Related to AI GPUs

Perspective	Content	Impact on Sustainability
Use of Rare Metals	Heavy use of gallium, tantalum, neodymium, cerium, indium, palladium, etc.	High depletion risk; mining causes environmental destruction and human rights issues
Large Copper Usage	Large amounts of high-purity copper needed for heat sinks, substrates, wiring, etc.	Pressures global copper demand; recycling consumes energy
Power Consumption (Operation)	One AI GPU consumes up to 350–700W; entire server can exceed 1–3kW	Increases overall data center power load; impacts local power grids
Cooling Load	High heat generation requires cooling devices and air conditioning	Adds to power consumption, reducing efficiency
Energy Input During Manufacture	Semiconductor refining, clean rooms, and material production require massive energy input	Very high CO₂ emissions across the lifecycle
Difficult Recycling	Chips are small and complex, making rare metal separation difficult	Current tech has low recovery rates, leading to much waste
Concentration and Distribution of Use	GPUs concentrated in some large companies and specific countries (e.g., NVIDIA, USA, China)	Concentration of technology, resources, and information increases inequality and geopolitical risks

At present, the introduction of AI into Prout Village is not being considered. However, AI itself is a beneficial technology and has the potential to contribute to the advancement of sustainable science. Due to the rare metal issues, personal ownership of PCs will disappear, and only a shared PC per municipality will be provided. Therefore, AI will no longer be a technology that everyone can use at all times. Under these circumstances, if AI is introduced with minimal usage, the AI in Prout Village will aim for the following:

Item	Prout Village’s Decentralized AI	Current Commercial Enterprise AI Systems
Management & Operation Entity	Local municipalities and communities manage servers and operations	Large tech companies (Google, Meta, OpenAI, etc.) centrally manage
System Structure	Decentralized and distributed	Centralized cloud-based
Source Code Availability	Fully open source, anyone can verify and improve	Mostly closed source, treated as black boxes
Data Management	Distributed management within the community with strong privacy protection	Centralized large-scale data collection, commercial use
Privacy & Transparency	High transparency; users can understand how their data is handled	Low transparency; users cannot fully understand data handling
Motivation for Profit	Prioritizes local sustainability and public interest	Maximizes profit and shareholder interests
System Adaptability & Flexibility	Customizable according to local needs	Focused on general-purpose use; limited adaptation to local characteristics

Regarding the question, "What is a trustworthy AI in Prout Village?", the answer is: "Non-profit" × "Open Source" × "Transparency."

Element	Reason
Open Source	Transparency of code, mechanisms, and data usage; anyone can verify the contents
Non-profit	Not profit-driven, so less prone to biases favoring advertisements, governments, or large corporations
Transparency	Decision-making and development processes are open, enabling external monitoring

If commercial AI systems become open source, that would be ideal. If not, the following tools are proposed:

Tool Name	Main Features	Open Source	Non-profit / Public Nature	Transparency
GPT-J / GPT-Neo	Skilled at natural language generation	Yes	High (EleutherAI is a non-profit group)	High (training process is public)
BLOOM	Multilingual support; developed by a public research project	Yes	High (BigScience Project)	High (training data and procedures public)
Rasa	Platform for building conversational AI freely	Yes	High (MIT License)	High (all code is open)
Hugging Face Transformers	Flexible base library supporting various AI models	Yes	Medium (company is for-profit but culturally public-oriented)	High (operations and contributions are public)
DeepPavlov	Conversational AI library specialized for education and FAQ	Yes	Medium to High (developed by Russian research institutions)	Medium to High (some training data is not public)

Since AI consumes a large amount of electricity, Prout Village will prioritize AI usage in the following fields.

High Priority Items
● Medical care, health checkups, etc.

Other Considerations
● Functions to compile and reference potential problems and solutions from town councils worldwide
● Functions to collect and aggregate opinions from municipality residents for Leaders’ reference

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○Future scenario for open-sourcing

The HF mesh network used for communication in Mid-tech is rare-metal free, but shared PCs connect to the internet. Therefore, advanced manufacturing technologies such as semiconductors are required. However, in the monetary society, this technology is monopolized by a few companies. Prout Village alone cannot introduce this technology initially, so the first step is to expand Mid-tech personal devices and communication networks. As Prout Village grows and monetary society shrinks, pressure for the open-sourcing of semiconductor technology and other advanced technologies is expected to increase. Below is that future scenario.

[Phase 1] Current Situation and Initial Construction Period (Now – 30 years)

⚫︎Technology concentration led by today’s giant semiconductor corporations

  ・Semiconductor manufacturing requires ultra-large factories and facilities, monopolized by a few major companies.

  ・High dependence on resources (rare metals) and environmental impact pose sustainability challenges.

⚫︎Start of constructing the regional communication Mid-tech network in the Prout Village model

  ・Introduction of Mid-tech terminals with limited functions (mainly calls and text).

  ・Design and operation of low-bandwidth, resource-saving networks on a municipality basis.

⚫︎Start of terminal manufacturing and recycling testing at the municipality level

  ・Adoption of simple and durability-focused design rather than advanced technology.

  ・Establishment of operation models emphasizing resource efficiency and recycling.

[Phase 2] Transition Period

⚫︎Shrinkage of monetary economy and expansion of sharing economy

  ・Prout Village’s autonomous decentralized social model spreads, shrinking the traditional profit-first economy.

  ・Building a sustainable society is prioritized over material wealth.

⚫︎Decline in semiconductor companies’ profits and increased pressure for technology disclosure

  ・New investments decrease, making it difficult to maintain the traditional large-scale production system.

  ・Social pressure and policy intervention promote partial open-sourcing and sharing of semiconductor technology.

⚫︎Gradual regional transfer and sharing of semiconductor technology begins

  ・Technology licenses and know-how are shared via international cooperation and frameworks such as the World Federation.

  ・Municipality-level advanced shared PC manufacturing starts becoming feasible.

[Phase 3] Maturity Period

⚫︎Complete technology sharing and establishment of sustainable infrastructure

  ・Semiconductor manufacturing technology is equally distributed and managed under cooperative frameworks like the World Federation.

  ・Manufacturing methods minimizing environmental impact are standardized.

⚫︎Self-sufficient local manufacturing and maintenance of communication devices

  ・Advanced recycling and resource circulation become routine.

  ・Resource disparities are resolved by the World Federation’s fair distribution rules.

⚫︎Programming and software knowledge are continuously passed down in educational institutions

  ・Systems for technology and knowledge succession are well-established, shared from individuals to entire communities.

[Phase 4] Long-term Maintenance and Evolution Period

⚫︎Technology is managed as open source and in sustainable forms

  ・No monopolization of technology; treated as common heritage of humanity.

  ・Integrated with a resource-circulating society; both hardware and software have extended lifespans with emphasis on maintenance.

⚫︎Communication networks are decentralized and redundant, resilient to environmental changes and disasters

  ・Low-bandwidth communication is central, optimizing energy efficiency.

⚫︎Knowledge transmission and technological innovation continue sustainably, advancing research and development on sustainable resource application

  ・Contributing to humanity’s social evolution.

This is based on the current understanding that continuing the present economic and technological model makes long-term sustainability difficult due to resource depletion, environmental destruction, and technological monopolization.

The issue of resource depletion is a global challenge that transcends national borders, making it extremely difficult for individual countries to address alone. Essential facilities such as medical devices, communication infrastructure, power generation equipment, water management, and disaster observation are indispensable in every country. Stable supply of critical materials like rare metals, which form the foundation of these facilities, is a common global issue. These facilities require advanced technological capabilities and often depend on materials that are difficult to substitute, making responses at the municipality level extremely challenging.

Therefore, it is indispensable for the World Federation to promote joint research and development on alternative materials, recycling technologies, and sustainable mining technologies. This will enable balancing stable resource supply with reduced environmental impact, aiming to solve global challenges.

In this way, it is necessary to comprehensively review not only "what to do about resources such as rare metals," but also design, resource management, technology sharing, and lifestyles. The World Federation will serve as the integrated management organization for Earth’s resources. The necessity of such an organization will gradually emerge around 2030, when resource ceilings start becoming visible.

At minimum, the following organizations will be needed within the World Federation:

Organization Name	Main Function
Earth Resource Accounting Agency	Monitoring, recording, and evaluating resource usage, recycling rates, and reserves by region and industry
International Rare Resource Allocation Agency	Prioritizing distribution of rare metals to necessary sectors (medical, communication, renewable energy, etc.)
International Resource Recycling Promotion Agency	Promoting international cooperation on waste collection, resource recycling, and technical support
International Knowledge & Technology Sharing Agency	Gradually opening and sharing core technologies in semiconductors, energy, agriculture, and medical fields for public benefit
International Sustainable Technology Investment Agency	Fundraising and investment management for R&D in resource efficiency, alternative materials, renewable energy technologies, and recycling; supporting collaboration with global research institutions and companies; planning and promoting demonstration and dissemination projects of new technologies