The Green Discount: How Meta’s Ex-CTO is Investing in a Sustainable Future

As I sat down to write this article, I couldn’t help but think of Bill Gates’ concept of the “green premium” - the idea that investing in climate technologies will eventually drive down their costs and make them more competitive with their polluting counterparts. But what about the products that are already more expensive than their green alternatives? Does that mean we shouldn’t invest in them, or is it just a matter of hoping that their costs will come down over time?

Technology takes time to develop, so no new technology is better, faster, or cheaper from the start. But over the life cycle of a company, in five to ten years, I have to assume that it will be competitive on a large scale or have a cost advantage over the alternatives. That means we only invest in things that we believe can be cost-competitive or have another decisive added value. That’s why I’ve kept my philanthropic work very separate from my investment activities.

Given your recent work as the head of technology and AI efforts at Meta, I’m curious about your thoughts on the potential tension between the energy consumption of AI and the goals of clean energy and climate protection. What do you think companies need to do to achieve their own climate goals when the energy demand of data centers is increasing?

Two thoughts on that. AI is a fundamental technology that can bring many benefits in the future. One reason I still work with Meta is that a large part of my work is on Llama, our open-source model that enables many different people in the industry to use this technology. I think opening up fundamental technologies is one way to move humanity forward faster and bring more people to prosperity, and that’s what’s important to me. As for energy consumption, I start by saying that we should use AI as quickly as possible because I think it’s good.

During my time at Meta, we often achieved improvements of several orders of magnitude in efficiency or energy consumption. I believe that the industry is currently trying to build the best it can, and that consumes a lot of power and energy. I think that when we reach a point where this is a big problem and we really need to optimize it from an efficiency perspective, there are many levers we can use.

Image: Green technology is becoming increasingly important for companies and individuals alike.

As someone who has spent their career working in the tech industry, I have to say that I’m excited about the potential for green technology to make a real difference. Whether it’s through investing in sustainable startups or using AI to drive down energy consumption, there are many ways that we can work towards a more sustainable future.

Image: A sustainable future is within our reach, but it will take effort and dedication from individuals and companies alike.

In conclusion, the green discount is an important concept that highlights the need for companies to invest in sustainable technologies. By doing so, we can drive down costs, increase efficiency, and create a more sustainable future for all. As Meta’s ex-CTO, I’m proud to be a part of this movement and I hope that others will join us in our efforts to create a more sustainable world.