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How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

ourworldindata.org

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Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#11

Post by rick_dalton »

axus wrote: post #9
Aurornis wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's surprising because that's all anyone hears about right now. Many are surprised to learn that data centers use much less water than golf courses or pools. We hear about it so much in the news it sounds like it's the overwhelming largest consumption problem around.

If they use so little water and power, why aren't they being built in the empty office buildings? Seems like commercial real estate was made for ... commercial activity.

This makes no sense? How is one even correlated with the other? Data centers obviously have much different requirements than office buildings for people. On a very small scale this works but not on a larger scale.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#12

Post by lordnacho »

I presume running an electric shower includes heating up the water? Otherwise I don't understand how it could be so energy intensive. The energy is the mgh of the water lifted, plus the heat you put into it. Heat tends to be by far bigger in that calculation unless I've missed something.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#13

Post by raychis »

Aurornis wrote: post #7
lopis wrote: post #4

The author claims it's surprising that AI uses less electricity than the rest of data centers. Why?? Data centers do a million different things other than AI

It's surprising because that's all anyone hears about right now. Many are surprised to learn that data centers use much less water than golf courses or pools. We hear about it so much in the news it sounds like it's the overwhelming largest consumption problem around.

I wonder if we made tech billionaires choose between keeping their golf courses or building more AI data centres what they would go for.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#14

Post by gruez »

DenisM wrote: post #3

Select quote: * 5% of electricity in the United States is used to power data centers. For AI-focused ones specifically, it’s probably around 2%.* I think it’s massive.

>I think it’s massive.

So what about the other 3%? That's not "massive"? Or it gets a pass because it's not AI? The whole debate over datacenter resource consumption feels like a rorschach test. Either you think the technology is transformative and therefore the resource consumption is justified, or you think it's slop and therefore any resource consumption can't be justified.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#15

Post by shipman05 »

lordnacho wrote: post #12

I presume running an electric shower includes heating up the water? Otherwise I don't understand how it could be so energy intensive. The energy is the mgh of the water lifted, plus the heat you put into it. Heat tends to be by far bigger in that calculation unless I've missed something.

Yes. They're likely referring to on-demand electric heating units that are installed near the shower head.

Our World in Data is based in the UK. Electric showers like this one https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/p/showers/shop-electric-shower... are more common there than they are in the US.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#16

Post by fxwin »

axus wrote: post #9
Aurornis wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's surprising because that's all anyone hears about right now. Many are surprised to learn that data centers use much less water than golf courses or pools. We hear about it so much in the news it sounds like it's the overwhelming largest consumption problem around.

If they use so little water and power, why aren't they being built in the empty office buildings? Seems like commercial real estate was made for ... commercial activity.

Nobody is saying that they use "so little water and power", just that the average person has no clue about the orders of magnitude at which anything outside of a private household uses these things, including things they previously didn't really have a problem with (like golf courses or almond farms)

Most people just hear and their brain goes "damn, that must be a lot, i don't use nearly that much at home"

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#17

Post by chrisgd »

We all just look at energy as a price. I think more people are concerned if our prices will go up, not how much energy it uses. The bigger question is water.

How much water do they use? Is it potable to begin with? Is it usable after? Will they drive prices up. These are one time builds with minimal jobs created after for a tech that could end my career. If I lose my job, I don’t also want to have no water and higher bills.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#18

Post by [deleted] »

shipman05 wrote: post #15
lordnacho wrote: post #12

I presume running an electric shower includes heating up the water? Otherwise I don't understand how it could be so energy intensive. The energy is the mgh of the water lifted, plus the heat you put into it. Heat tends to be by far bigger in that calculation unless I've missed something.

Yes. They're likely referring to on-demand electric heating units that are installed near the shower head. Our World in Data is based in the UK. Electric showers like this one https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/p/showers/shop-electric-shower... are more common there than they are in the US.

[deleted]

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#19

Post by dundarious »

gruez wrote: post #14
DenisM wrote: post #3

Select quote: * 5% of electricity in the United States is used to power data centers. For AI-focused ones specifically, it’s probably around 2%.* I think it’s massive.

>I think it’s massive. So what about the other 3%? That's not "massive"? Or it gets a pass because it's not AI? The whole debate over datacenter resource consumption feels like a rorschach test. Either you think the technology is transformative and therefore the resource consumption is justified, or you think it's slop and therefore any resource consumption can't be justified.

If it was 2% for VOD streaming, and 3% for every other service that is delivered by a networked computer, I would think "wow, streaming is huge". 2% for one thing that most people hardly use at all, versus 3% for everything else on the computer, is still a remarkable statistic. I'm not making any value judgment in order to say that.

I also don't think it's particularly conclusive about anything though. It doesn't on its face make me think anything like "it must be stopped", but it's remarkable.

Re: How much energy do data centers and artificial intelligence use?

#20

Post by jjulius »

shipman05 wrote: post #10

I'm dismayed by the current political discourse on this topic. Seems like the two camps are 1) let mega corps build data centers with impunity or 2) use NIMBY tactics to oppose them in all cases. I want to see a pro-growth approach that makes the mega corps assume the costs of their negative externalities. I want to see an increased build out of renewable and nuclear energy sources. I want to see environmental protec…

>Democracies don't handle nuance well.

Especially when modern discourse revolves around 140-character hot takes.

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