AI Is Eating Data Center Power Demand—and It’s Only Getting Worse
1 min read
Summary
AI is set to consume as much electricity as all the world’s data centres do today by the end of this year, new research suggests, potentially creating a shortfall of as much as 2.8% in some US regions.
It calls into question the pledges by big tech firms such as Google and Microsoft to cut emissions, as AI is also responsible for driving up their energy use.
For instance, Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 48% since 2019, which will make the company’s goal of reaching net zero by 2030 even harder to achieve.
Furthermore, the researcher who conducted the study claimed that AI’s energy demand is a far bigger threat than that of bitcoin, as the money poured into AI by big tech companies is escalating faster.
