Artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to be the most transformative technology since the internet's inception, and this is reflected in the surging interest in AI-related stocks, with the Nasdaq up 26% year-to-date
The rapid expansion of AI, exemplified by chatbots like ChatGPT, comes at a significant energy cost
Research from the University of Washington indicates that millions of queries to ChatGPT can consume as much energy as 33,000 US households in a day
AI inquiries, such as those made to ChatGPT, are far more power-hungry compared to standard email inquiries, possibly requiring 10 to 100 times more energy
Experts believe that we are only at the beginning of AI adoption, with a potential energy crisis looming unless significant improvements are made in energy efficiency
Data centers are central to advanced computing and cloud computing, managed by major companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon
The shift to larger foundation models in AI, such as GPUs, is increasing the energy demand of data centers significantly. GPUs are known to consume 10 to 15 times more power per processing cycle than CPUs
Despite the energy-intensive nature of AI, it is highly efficient in tasks that humans struggle with
Research indicates that data center energy usage grew by an average of 25% per year between 2015 and 2021, even before the widespread use of generative AI models like ChatGPT
The gap between data center energy growth and renewable energy deployment is substantial, highlighting the need for sustainable solutions