The large energy users are DATA FARMS, not a single AI computer. These are the banks of servers collecting and storing what toothpaste you use. These farms have been in place for a while now…not directly related to AI. From another comment, M$oft has contracted to buy electricity from the company trying to reopen one reactor at 3 mile island but won’t be using it all. As we move away from fossil fuel energy (well not in the next 4 years in the US) there will be a sharp increase in the need for electrical energy which currently is only 34% of the total energy use in the US. EVs could demand up to a 50% increase. Providing carbon free ON DEMAND energy will be a challenge especially in high population density regions.
Let’s compare the energy used to send me 3 email adds for Duluth Trading every day versus that for L L Bean to send me 3 full color catalogs weekly. The energy used by AI is a tiny blip and most likely decreases energy use in other sectors. Anyway, the future of climate change is almost entirely in the hands of China and India.
The large energy users are DATA FARMS, not a single AI computer. These are the banks of servers collecting and storing what toothpaste you use. These farms have been in place for a while now…not directly related to AI. From another comment, M$oft has contracted to buy electricity from the company trying to reopen one reactor at 3 mile island but won’t be using it all. As we move away from fossil fuel energy (well not in the next 4 years in the US) there will be a sharp increase in the need for electrical energy which currently is only 34% of the total energy use in the US. EVs could demand up to a 50% increase. Providing carbon free ON DEMAND energy will be a challenge especially in high population density regions.