Running artificial intelligence or AI data centers requires a lot of electricity. But these data centers are affecting the electricity supply to millions of US citizens' homes. Such information has emerged in a new study.
New data centers are being built across the country to meet the demand for AI technology. But these data centers are consuming so much electricity that it's putting extra strain on the electrical grid in many areas. Researchers estimate that the power demand of AI data centers may be three to five times higher than that of conventional data centers.
According to a Bloomberg analysis, it came out of the power readings of about 770,000 homes from February to October this year. More than 75 percent of the nation's “abnormal power readings” occur within 50 miles of large data center operations.
Stress on the electrical grid reduces power quality and causes heat or sparks in home electronics. It can even increase the risk of fire.
A small portion of the global data center is held by a few large technology companies, and they are moving at a rapid pace. According to a report published in 2023, Amazon, Google and Microsoft own 65 percent of the global cloud infrastructure market.
Last April, Google announced a $3 billion investment in building and expanding new data centers in Virginia and Indiana. The company unveiled the AI model Gemini 2.0 this month.
Amazon is a major investor in AI startup Anthropic. On December 16, it announced another $10 billion investment in data centers in Ohio.
Microsoft invests $13 billion in ChatGPT maker OpenAI Last September, it announced it had partnered with other investors, including BlackRock, on a $100 billion energy infrastructure project. The project will include 'new and expanded data centres'.
To meet AI's growing energy needs, some companies, including Google, are turning to nuclear power as a more reliable and sustainable energy source.
References: Business Insider
