After your question, I went back and looked through the posts I have shared over the years. I asked myself honestly:

“Am I really using AI that much?”

Out of more than 1,000 posts, less than 1% involve AI-generated content. During the past year, I have used it more often for announcements, promotional materials, and also for translation.

But your comment made me think about something much broader. I assume your concern is the environmental impact of AI.

So instead of looking only at AI, I looked at my own life as a whole.

My ancestors were herders who did not live against nature, but in balance with it. When I compare my life with theirs, I may well be the person in my lineage who has placed the greatest burden on the natural world.

Every day I use hot and cold running water, sewage systems, electricity, high-speed internet, phones, computers, television and other electronic devices. I eat highly processed food wrapped in plastic and food produced with chemical fertilizers. I own far more clothes than I truly need. Many of the devices I use contain rare elements that have been extracted from the earth.

On top of that, I chew gum, drink fizzy drinks, smoke, and occasionally drink alcohol.

When I look at all of this honestly, it becomes difficult for me to point only at AI and say, “This is where the environmental problem is.”

I am not saying that AI has no environmental impact. Of course it does. But if we focus on one part while ignoring the rest of our consumption and modern way of life, then we are looking at only a very small part of a much larger problem.

I believe we can only understand our real impact on nature when we are willing to examine our entire way of living—our habits, our needs, our comforts, and our consumption.

I have been thinking seriously about this in my own life. How can I consume less? How can I live more simply? How can I place less pressure on the natural world?

Before too long, we plan to return to our homeland and live a much simpler life, closer to the traditional herding way of life of our ancestors.

So I am genuinely interested in your thoughts.

If we look beyond AI and consider our whole modern lifestyle, what practical and positive ways do you see for reducing our impact on nature?