AI makes Data Centers consume much more energy

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging technology that is transforming the way we live and work. AI is used in a wide range of applications, from facial recognition to autonomous driving. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it also becomes more energy intensive.

Data centers are facilities that house servers, for data storage and other computing equipment. These devices consume a lot of energy to operate. And the arrival of AI is one of the main causes of the increase in energy consumption in data centers.

AI affects data center energy consumption in several ways. First of all, AI requires a large amount of data to train. This data must be stored on servers, which consume energy. Second, AI requires a lot of processing power to run. Servers running AI models consume a lot of power. Third, AI requires cooling to keep servers at an appropriate temperature. Cooling data centers is another major source of energy consumption.

The impact of AI on data center energy consumption is significant. According to a report from the International Energy Agency, data center energy consumption could increase by 18% by 2025. This increase is largely due to the increased use of AI.

Just for our information, it is estimated that Data Centers consume about 200 TWh. year. Nvidia (the leading AI server company) is expected to deliver 100,000 AI servers this year, which could consume about 8 TWh. per year, and it is estimated that by 2027 they can deliver around 1.5 million servers that would consume about 120 TWh. year. This gives us an idea of the importance of Data Centers with AI capabilities in energy consumption worldwide.

Increasing energy consumption of data centers has several implications. First, it increases greenhouse gas emissions. Data centers are responsible for around 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Second, it increases energy costs. Data centers are one of the main sources of energy consumption in the world. Third, it increases vulnerability to power cuts. Data centers are dependent on a reliable source of energy.

There are several solutions to reduce the effect of data center energy consumption. One solution is to use renewable energy sources. Renewable energy sources, such as solar energy and wind energy, do not emit greenhouse gases. Another solution is to use more efficient equipment, and in fact new equipment is more efficient and consumes less energy.

AI can also be used to reduce energy consumption in data centers. AI can be used to optimize data center energy use. For example, AI can be used to automatically adjust the temperature of data centers based on demand, etc….

It is very clear that AI is here to stay, but it is also very clear that its great computing power requires a greater input of energy, and this has its negative side that must be managed.

The PROBLEM (in capital letters) is that this increase in energy consumption worldwide should come from non-polluting sources, and at the moment this is not happening.

When will we turn this situation around? It is not at all clear.