Every single time you use AI to create bespoke images or videos, you’re using a tremendous amount of power. This is an open secret about AI in the 21st century: that the power required for both electricity and cooling systems both contributes to greenhouse gases and consumes immense amounts of water. But what about in the 23rd century? Or what about the 24th? Before generative AI was even a thing in real life, the Star Trek franchise has been playing fast and loose with just how much power very advanced, immersive AI simulations would require. Starting in 1987 with The Next Generation’s debut episode, “Encounter at Farpoint,” we learned about the holodeck, a place where you can simulate any environment, and seemingly any person who ever lived. And now, 38 years later, in a sneaky way, the Trek canon is addressing the one thing that TNG never quite nailed down: What’s the deal with the power drain?
The just-released Strange New Worlds episode, “A Space Adventure Hour,” uses a rudimentary version of the holodeck to wax nostalgic about old-school Hollywood whodunnits, but also about the origin of Star Trek itself. And yet, by the end of this episode, Captain Pike, La’an and Scotty conclude that the holodeck itself is too glitchy, and requires a ton of power, with La’an saying to Pike: “While holodeck technology certainly holds promise, the risks outweigh the potential benefits... we do not recommend the device be installed on active ships at this time.” In theory, this one sentence lets SNW have its holodeck cake and eat it too: Yes, the technology for a holodeck, of course, existed in the 23rd century, but it wasn’t until the 24th century that Starfleet considered it reasonable or safe.
