@wizzwizz4 Its pretty much the only point I see everyone agreeing on regarding energy-efficient computing!
I particularly like https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2009/06/the-monster-footprint-of-digital-technology/ , & I'll ask @gerrymcgovern for more.
As for whether its necessarily true... My best guess is that it'd take a massive reengineering of our entire hardware & software stacks. Probably including new datastorage technologies. Afterall they're doing a lot to be not quite as energy-intensive!