The power demand of artificial intelligence processing computers is massive. To help readers understand just how much power AI needs, Shaolei Ren explained to The Wall Street Journal’s Alexander Saeedy that “Each unit is doing a very simple calculation, but there are so many such small units, and overall, the power consumption is really huge. A server with 16 chips, smaller than a piece of checked baggage, needs the same power as five to 10 households.” Ren is a professor of computer science at the University of California, Riverside.
The MIT Technology Review reports that 4.4% of all U.S. energy production goes towards data centers, and that by 2028, more than half of the energy going toward data centers will be used for AI.
According to S&P Global, AI power demand is about 5GW in the United States, but could rise to 50GW by 2030. That’s not far away.
Action Line: How will America produce all that power? Perhaps now is the time for a nuclear renaissance. Your Survival Guy will be watching. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
