I'm curious, what are your thoughts on these neural net AI art generation tools like DallE and GPT? You seem to have strong opinions on what "legitimate" uses of electricity are, and they given that an entire economic ecosystem is apparently not legitimate, is making art? How about playing video games?
It depends... can the same outcome be achieved by using 99.5% less electricity? If it can, then it means 99.5% of the electricity consumed by this activity is being wasted, and that is a fact. Otherwise, it becomes a matter of opinion. Do I think casinos are a waste of space and energy? Sure, but this is just an opinion based on my personal preferences. I understand people have different preferences.
