The electrical power required for one A.I. (artificial intelligence) data center will use more energy than the two Pittsburgs. More specifically, an A.I. data center will consume more electricity than 600,000 U.S. citizens. Future A.I. data centers will consume even more electricity, as they will be even bigger than today’s A.I. data centers.
The power required to run 20 A.I. data centers is the equivalent of the electricity needed by 12 million people. This is the equivalent of the populations of Utah, Nevada and Colorado. Today there are over 5,100 data centers in the world; they require the equivalent electricity needed by 3 billion people.
There are 8.2 billion people in the world today.
How do we want to prioritize our use of energy? What would A.I. tell us to do that would best benefit humanity?
Invest more in fossil fuel energy to drive A.I.?
Use less A.I. and other big data business practices designed to sell more stuff?
Require that all A.I. data centers be powered by clean energy?
Rueter’s news agency reports that “Data-center reliance on fossil fuels may delay clean-energy transition.” And that the A.I. industry knows this. We should know this as well.
No doubt A.I. will be part of humans finding a solution through initiatives like CleanAi and the Cleantech Group. Many A.I. providers are working diligently to drive clean energy solutions for their massive needs.
So what would A.I. tell us to do in the best interest of humanity? Maybe we should not depend on A.I. to provide this answer. Maybe we should demand our local, state and national leaders to contemplate the risks and benefits and start doing more things that are right for us and not just for tech businesses.
Andrew Watt, Sandy
