Zoekresultaten

  • AI is not a new thing in digital heritage

    This is blog 15 in the blog series about Green IT. Heritage organisations have been using AI for many years to make their digital collections accessible and searchable in new ways and to allow more people to discover, explore and make use of cultural treasures. In this blog, we look at how the heritage sector is already using AI, and discuss a few example projects. Applications in the heritage sector Applying AI is actually not a new development at all: there are countless projects in which a...

  • Introducing Artificial Intelligence: friend or foe?

    This is blog 14 in the blog series about Green IT. Since the launch of Chat GPT in late 2021, use of this chatbot has skyrocketed. No less than 100 million users registered in the first two months after the launch, giving a huge boost to the use of artificial intelligence. Microsoft and Alfabet (Google’s parent company) quickly followed with similar chatbots: Bing Chat and Bard. While the potential of AI seems boundless, it comes with considerable ecological impact. In the next four blogs we ...

  • Green software: Measuring to understand and to improve

    This is blog 13 in the blog series on Green IT. To measure is to know, certainly where CO2 emissions are concerned. Since the late 1990s, organisations have pursued a uniform method to measure their footprint. This makes it possible to compare data and encourages organisations to take specific steps toward improvement. When using green software, it is vital to understand how your organisation’s efforts are contributing to reducing energy consumption and hence to reducing CO2 emissions. The la...

  • Green software: Extend the lifespan of your (used) IT equipment

    This is blog 12 in the blog series about Green IT. Did you know that the lion’s share of the CO2 footprint of IT equipment is attributable to the production phase? When measuring the impact of ICT, it is therefore important to also consider the production of the hardware you use. This includes things like the servers in the data centre, the laptop and mobile phone you use, and the cables required to transport the data. In the previous two blogs we examined how software can actively contribute...

  • Green software: Do more when the electricity is cleaner

    This is blog 11 in the blog series about Green IT. Although the proportion of green energy is growing in the Netherlands, currently just 40% of our energy comes from renewable sources (1). The lion’s share is still generated using fossil fuels, also known as ‘grey energy’. Green energy isn’t always sufficiently available and remains dependent on weather conditions. The third principle of green software concerns creative solutions to better match supply and demand. Principle 3 - Carbon awarene...

  • Green software: less energy = less CO2 emission

    This is blog 10 in a series about Green IT. ​​ Imagine you download a new app, and suddenly your battery runs out much more quickly than previously. The cause: poorly programmed software. This is, in miniature, what also happens on a grand scale: in data centres and on the internet. Poorly programmed or incorrectly used software contributes to the ICT sector’s carbon footprint. How? We will explore this in the coming blogs about green software. This blog is the first on this new theme. Green ...

  • Data storage in glass: Superman has already been immortalised

    This is blog 9 in the blog series about Green IT. The last innovative storage technique that does seem promising, certainly for digital heritage, uses glass. Microsoft has been researching this possibility for several years now, in its Project Silica. Researchers use specially manufactured glass to store large amounts of data for the long-term and in a sustainable manner. In this blog we explain how this method works. (1) Project Silica started in 2019 as an experiment, originally intended as...

  • Data storage in atoms: science fiction or future reality?

    This is blog 8 in the blog series about Green IT. Atoms, the tiniest particles on earth, could spark a revolution in data storage. Just imagine: storing one thousand times as much information on current hard disks. The high data density of atoms will make it possible to store the entire iTunes library of 35 million songs (1) on a device the size of a credit card. This blog describes how it works and looks at the pros and cons of this storage method. Magnetism is the basis, and the challenge S...

  • Data storage in synthetic DNA: coding and decoding in secret code

    This is blog 7 in the blog series about Green IT. Visitors to the Archive Days 2023, organised by the Royal Association of Archivists in the Netherlands (KVAN), will remember the fascinating story by researcher Dina Zielinski about storing data in synthetic DNA. She also explains it clearly in her TED talk on YouTube (1). Despite the advanced stage of research, the costs of storage in DNA remains an obstacle. Nevertheless, the technology is expected to become commercially available within the...

  • The quest for sustainable alternatives to disks and tapes

    This is blog 6 in the blog series about Green IT. All around the world, the amount of stored data continues to increase. This raises questions as to how long we can continue storing this information using existing storage methods, such as disks and tapes. At the same time, the search is on for ways to reduce the growing energy use in the IT sector. This blog takes a look at the research world, which sometimes resembles an exciting science fiction film. Current storage is infinite In previous ...