That is the emissions of 74k cars annually. But how does that stack up? In Dec 2021 Alpine presented a memo to Brad Smith, where she calculated how a single 2019 deal Microsoft struck with ExxonMobil would produce an estimated 6.4M tonnes of *additional* emissions annually. 13/
@_karenhao
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Microsoft AI tools help oil and gas companies reduce emissions efficiently
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Let’s examine whether these deals might help with the energy transition. Microsoft & its O&G clients say its AI tools help make drilling more energy efficient. A Shell spox said they saw an estimated reduction of 340,000 tonnes of CO2 per year at one natural-gas facility. 12/
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AI Promotion for Fossil Fuels: Reputation Management Strategy Shift
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It has been careful to maintain this reputation even as it hasn’t stopped promoting AI for fossil fuel extraction. You can easily find evidence of its engagements with the O&G industry before 2020. After 2020? These mentions focus only on the transition to net zero. 10/
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Microsoft leverages OpenAI relationship to pitch AI to Chevron
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Microsoft also dangles its relationship with OpenAI. An executive strategy memo from June 2023 showed that Microsoft wanted to pitch Chevron, with which it has multiple deals including one over $1B, on adopting OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 & GPT-4 to “deliver more business value.” 8/
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AI as Game Changer for Oil and Gas Extraction Optimization
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One such pathway? Using generative algorithms to model oil and gas reservoirs and maximize their extraction. “AI is truly the game changer and the key for the industry to continue to be competitive,” Microsoft’s oil & gas exec said to 200+ employees. 7/
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Microsoft leverages genAI hype to secure energy industry contracts
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Microsoft has sought to leverage genAI hype to land more contracts. In Sept 2023, company execs noted that the energy industry was turning to Microsoft in a way that had perhaps “never happened before.” It needed to “maximize this opportunity” & “lay out the pathway” to genAI. 6/
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Microsoft’s Major Oil and Gas Market Opportunity Worth Billions
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This is big business for Microsoft. Internal employee reports estimate the O&G industry represents a market opportunity of between $35 billion to $75 billion – especially notable with the pressures Microsoft faces to continually show payoffs to its massive AI investments. 5/
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Microsoft’s analysis showed ExxonMobil could increase revenue by 1.4 billion
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Here’s an example: In a slide deck from Jan 2022, Microsoft prepared an analysis that said its tools could allow ExxonMobil to increase its annual revenue by 0.8%, or $1.4 billion—$600 million of which would come from optimizing its drilling. 4/
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Microsoft develops AI tools to optimize fossil fuel production
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Microsoft doesn’t just passively provide its services to these companies. It develops bespoke AI-enhanced tools for them, which it also markets to them as for the explicit purpose of optimizing and automating drilling, and maximizing fossil-fuel production. 3/
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Refugee family loses $17k in elaborate scam using deepfake deception
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A devastating story about an elaborate scam that cost a refugee family $17k that includes this detail: As part of the ruse, the victim was duped into thinking a very real call from his wife was in fact a deepfake. The blurry line between fact & fiction preys on the vulnerable.