A fortnightly series · no maths degree required

The news gives you adjectives. I’ll get you the numbers.

Hi — I’m Fred. “Enormous”, “tiny”, “soaring”, “a crisis” — the news is full of claims wearing adjectives instead of numbers. I’m a PhD researcher who enjoys reading the 400-page reports nobody else will, so every couple of weeks I take one big question, dig out the actual figures, and explain them like a human. You get the answer, the honest wobble around it, and all my working — data and code included.

№1
One question at a time

Asked the way you’d ask it at the pub. Answered with evidence.

№2
Honest about the fuzzy bits

When the experts disagree by 10×, I’ll tell you that — it’s usually the interesting part.

№3
Check my working

Every number has a source. Every chart has code. Catch me out and I’ll thank you.

Season one
What does AI actually cost the planet?

8 essays · first one soon
  1. 01 How much electricity does AI actually use?Somewhere between “a small country” and “barely anything”, depending who you ask. Let’s find out who’s right. in the works
  2. 02 One prompt is not one numberDoes one ChatGPT question really cost a bottle of water? The viral numbers, checked. in the works
  3. 03 The grid questionBritain wants lots of data centres and Net Zero. Can it have both? in the works
  4. 04 The water billData centres get thirsty. So do the places they’re built in. in the works
  5. 05 What does Parliament actually know?What’s on MPs’ desks when they make decisions about AI and energy — and what’s missing? in the works
  6. 06 Jevons in the machineIf AI gets more efficient, do we use less energy… or loads more? in the works
  7. 07 The Wales angleWhat happens when the data centres come to Wales? in the works
  8. 08 Okay — so what should we actually do?Seven essays of numbers, one of answers. in the works

Got a suspicious statistic you’d like checked? A “send me a number” postbox is coming with the first essay.