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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?

#61

Post by RetroTechie »

DWe1 wrote: post #52
Abh1Works wrote: post #39

Something I havent heard alot of people talk about is meat. I dont think you can be against data centers, but also buy cheap meat. I understand food != compute, and thats a fact. BUT the same people who are protesting against AI data centers are the same people who fly every year, eat steak in every other dinner, and generally indulge in activities that are bad for the planet (and theres no acknowledgement).

If you make such claims please back this up with evidence? I, for one, would expect a strong correlation between skepticism against AI data centers, vegetarianism and the preference for alternative travel methods to flying. Your comment sounds a lot like whataboutism to me.

> I, for one, would expect a strong correlation between skepticism against AI data centers, vegetarianism and the preference for alternative travel methods to flying.

And then you'd be equally wrong as the commenter you replied to. Without data it's just speculation.

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

#62

Post by palmotea »

jagged-chisel wrote: post #55
palmotea wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am pro-AI datacenters. I just think they should all be built in Atherton and the Hamptons, with the stipulation they're only allowed to be built adjacent to the most expensive residential property in the area, in the way of its most impressive view.

"In the way of"? How about ... as an enhancement of the most impressive views.

> How about ... as an enhancement of the most impressive views.

I like it!

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

#63

Post by RetroTechie »

ggreer wrote: post #36
xnx wrote: post #8

Our World in Data is great, but this article would've been improved if it offered a chart that offered a comparison to it's leading "1.5% of global electricity number". For example: 7% to 10% of all global electricity is consumed by air conditioning. It's not hard to think of relatively small interventions that could save 1.5% of global energy use annually.

Increasing global electricity production by 1.5% (or 500 terawatt-hours) would also be a solution. Production from solar power increased by 600TWh from 2024-2025 and its rate of adoption is increasing as costs go down, so this doesn't seem like a problem worth worrying about.

Going by those figures, would mean that AI datacenters built so far, consume enough energy to undo almost a year of solar power buildout. AND growing like crazy. That's running costs. Not energy going into a building's construction or fabrication of the gear going in there.

Does seem like a problem worth worrying about.

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

#64

Post by 0xffff2 »

dundarious wrote: post #33
sroussey wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2% for one thing that most people hardly use at all AI is hardly used at all? Basically every company and consumer in the country is using it, transitively if not directly.

Every company is using it? The deli and the laundromat too? Every consumer? Maybe transitively because they use Google or what have you, but most people I know still don't really know what AI is, never mind have a puritan revulsion over using it (some people are quite performative about this on here), but they just don't use it themselves, except transitively on occasion.

The deli is using it to make advertising flyers. Every consumer is using it as a replacement for google search as far as I can tell. I do a fair bit of work with people in the 18-25 range and almost all of them love to rail against AI, but none of them seem to be capable of completing even simple tasks without using it. Even my 63 year old mother uses it at work to generate reports. I would love to see some hard numbers, but I would be truly shocked if "most people still don't really know what AI is" is in any way justifiable across all adults in OECD countries.

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

#65

Post by penr0se »

bakies wrote: post #29
jjulius wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Democracies don't handle nuance well. Especially when modern discourse revolves around 140-character hot takes.

And Instagram reels. Mine is so full of anti-green-energy propaganda I uninstalled the app.

Instagram's algorithm is based on what you interact the most with (even stopping to watch the reel, to read comments or to write one counts as interacting). You can start marking all that content as "Not interesting" and in the worst case just blocking those profiles to fix your feed and algorithm (or even go to your settings and tweak your interests directly).

But uninstalling the app is never a bad choice regardless

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

#66

Post by eddyg »

Abh1Works wrote: post #39

Something I havent heard alot of people talk about is meat. I dont think you can be against data centers, but also buy cheap meat. I understand food != compute, and thats a fact. BUT the same people who are protesting against AI data centers are the same people who fly every year, eat steak in every other dinner, and generally indulge in activities that are bad for the planet (and theres no acknowledgement).

https://www.andymasley.com/visuals/ai-prompt-footprint/

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

#67

Post by eddyg »

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.

What's massive is the amount of water used for a handful of almonds. Not daily AI use.

https://www.andymasley.com/visuals/ai-prompt-footprint/

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

#68

Post by kreyenborgi »

eddyg wrote: post #66
Abh1Works wrote: post #39

Something I havent heard alot of people talk about is meat. I dont think you can be against data centers, but also buy cheap meat. I understand food != compute, and thats a fact. BUT the same people who are protesting against AI data centers are the same people who fly every year, eat steak in every other dinner, and generally indulge in activities that are bad for the planet (and theres no acknowledgement).

https://www.andymasley.com/visuals/ai-prompt-footprint/

Oh wow that really drives home how bad agentic ai is compared to what most people use it for

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

#69

Post by glaslong »

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…

I think the problem is that "make them build responsibly" has the same outcome as "ban altogether" while being more effort on both sides.

It's too much easier and cheaper to drive one town over and bribe a local politician to let you pollute the river with impunity.

Maybe if we had some sort of Environmental Protection Agency or Federal Trade Commission that could enforce more broadly it would be a different story, and every hyperscaler DC could come with a guarantee of boosting clean energy and water reclamation. That would be a cool thing to have.

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

#70

Post by DemocracyFTW2 »

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.

Failing democracies don't handle nuance well.

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