AI Has a Climate Problem. Here’s a Smarter Way Forward.

By Holly Shaftel, contributing writer

Did you know that every time you Google something or give ChatGPT a command, it creates greenhouse (heat-trapping) emissions and uses a lot of water? The internet uses a lot of energy globally.

If you look at the rapid growth of artificial intelligence* (AI) in particular, its data centers (“servers”) use about 1.5% of the world’s electricity. This demand is growing about 12% per year, according to the International Energy Agency. Data center energy use could double by 2030!

“AI is an incredibly transformative technology that is here to stay,” said Phillip Thomas, a mechanical engineer in the power electronics** industry, with a focus on data centers.

Let’s look at how AI servers use this power and learn about a theoretical solution to their overuse.

Why AI Data Centers Use So Much Energy

Have you ever used a computer for so long that it starts to overheat? While you’ve been playing games and surfing the web, your computer has been using tons of electricity to run tons of code. It also has a fan to cool it down, using even more energy.

A source such as a power plant sends electricity to your home as alternating current, or AC. Inside your computer, a power supply — a metal box — changes that electricity into direct current, or DC, which the computer and fan can use. This conversion causes some energy loss.

Now, imagine that on a much larger scale — like thousands of overheated computers running 24/7. AI servers, like those running the rest of the internet, are giant computer buildings that process what you and many others ask them to do.

Fossil fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas — generate most of the electricity these machines use. This process releases carbon dioxide (CO₂), the main cause of climate change.

Like your personal computer, these servers also overheat and need a cooling system such as fans, industrial air conditioners, and sometimes water-cooling towers, which waste water. That takes even more energy!

We don’t need this on an already burning planet. Thankfully, there’s an innovative solution that could help!

A Better Way to Deliver Power

Today’s data centers rely on bulky, expensive equipment that converts AC to DC electricity multiple times and sends it like a firehose. There lies an opportunity to reduce those conversions and turn down the torrent, helping to transform global energy consumption.

Imagine a system that not only reduces the number of power changes, but also sends the right amount of electricity to computers only when they need it.

It could also be modular and treated like a Lego, where every time a computer is added to a data center, an engineer could add a power box to fit that computer to make it work more efficiently. That way, servers won’t have to be built with this mechanism all at once.

Together, this approach could help people and organizations save energy and money, and data centers could work better with clean energy sources such as solar and batteries.

“DC-to-DC power will be the new standard of efficiency for data centers,” said Thomas.

Conclusion

There’s a solution to every problem. As AI power grows, so do its emissions and other negative environmental consequences. The above theory could help stabilize our warming planet while allowing technology to evolve.

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* Artificial intelligence is technology that lets computers learn, think, and make decisions in ways that are similar to how humans do — like recognizing pictures, answering questions, or learning from mistakes.

** Power electronics are special parts that control how electricity moves so machines get the right amount of power, at the right time, and in the right form. They’re basically like traffic controllers, making sure power goes where it should, safely and efficiently.

Main image: Jorge Franganillo from Pixabay