The booming development of artificial intelligence has posed severe challenges to energy demand. Downcodes editors here analyze the huge impact of artificial intelligence on electricity consumption, and potential solutions to this challenge. A Gartner report shows that the power consumption of artificial intelligence servers is growing at an alarming rate, which not only puts great pressure on the environment, but also places higher requirements on future energy supply. This article will delve into this issue and look at future strategies to combat it.
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the demand for electricity is also increasing. According to a new report from Gartner, newly installed servers consumed 195 terawatt hours of electricity last year, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 18 million households. It is expected that by 2027, this number will soar to 500 terawatt hours, equivalent to the annual electricity demand of approximately 46 million households.
Picture source note: The picture is generated by AI, and the picture authorization service provider Midjourney
Not only that, the power consumption of existing data centers in 2022 has reached 349 terawatt hours. It can be seen that with the popularization and application of artificial intelligence, the power demand of data centers will show explosive growth in the future. If there is not enough renewable energy supply, this will lead to increased environmental pollution.
To address this challenge, businesses and governments need to increase investment and development in renewable energy. For example, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has invested more than $375 million in fusion energy to find cleaner and more sustainable sources of electricity. The background of this investment is to meet the growing demand for electricity in the future and reduce carbon emissions during AI training and use.
With the sharp increase in power demand, the power supply problem of data centers needs to be solved urgently. Only through technological innovation and policy support can we protect our environment while meeting the development needs of AI.
All in all, there is a strong connection between the development of artificial intelligence and energy sustainability. In the future, we need to actively explore clean energy and formulate reasonable policies to ensure the sustainable development of artificial intelligence and avoid energy crisis and environmental pollution. Only in this way can artificial intelligence technology be better used to benefit mankind.