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Why SoftBank paid me 17 yen to skip the air conditioning

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Based on the episode description, not a full transcript. Source evidence retrieved 29/10/2026, 07:32:24 UTC.

Briefings

Patrick McKenzie analyzes SoftBank's 2022 push to reduce air conditioning usage, linking it to broader discussions on electricity markets and AI data centers. He explains how virtual power plants and base load plants function, noting that AI chips depreciate faster than electricity bills, making them behave like constant base load consumers rather than variable peakers. The episode covers CoreWeave's role as a GPU host for Ethereum miners and compares these entities to recent events like ERCOT's payment to a Bitcoin miner during the 2023 Texas heat wave.

Key points

• Patrick McKenzie discusses SoftBank's 2022 push to reduce air conditioning usage between 5 and 8 PM, prompted by a push notification.
• The episode covers CoreWeave's start as a GPU host for Ethereum miners and compares AI data center chip depreciation to electricity bills.

Context

The podcast explores the intersection of energy markets and technology, using a specific SoftBank notification as a hook to discuss electricity generation, demand response, and the economic behavior of AI data centers versus traditional miners.

Limitations

Evidence is limited to a single podcast episode transcript and a reference to a 2022 Bits about Money essay. Specific dates for the 2023 Texas heat wave payment are not provided, and the exact impact of the air conditioning policy on McKenzie's personal finances is not detailed.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 29/10/2026, 07:33:20 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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