AI revolution: soon 1% of the world's electricity will come from data centers!

AI revolution: soon 1% of the world's electricity will come from data centers!

What's actually going on here? The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is raising more and more questions about our electricity consumption and the associated climate impacts. Current studies show that AI applications will soon be responsible for around 1% of global electricity consumption. So that this doesn't get too much for us, we should keep a close eye on developments in this area. According to MDR, energy consumption in data centers will increase to around 300 terawatt hours by 2028. For comparison: In 2024, electricity production in Germany was 431.7 terawatt hours. This is not a piece of cake!

Particularly worrying: The data centers in which these AI applications are operated are mainly concentrated in the USA and China, where climate policy is subject to less strict requirements than in the EU. This raises the question: Are we losing electricity and the climate faster than we can imagine? The International Energy Agency (IEA) even predicts that the electricity demand of data centers will double as a result of the AI ​​boom. A real problem that affects us all.

The water side of AI

The issue of water consumption is also obvious. Who would have thought that just talking to a chatbot would consume around 500 milliliters of water? For example, training AI models like ChatGPT-3 has consumed over 5.4 million liters of water. The majority of this was used to cool the data centers. According to Tagesschau, 700,000 liters of water alone were needed for cooling. In a data center, the IT systems consume the most electricity, but cooling is the largest energy guzzler. A vicious circle that also affects our water consumption.

Not only electricity, but also water will be a valuable commodity in the future if we continue to follow current trends in AI development. And what is the situation with emissions? Currently, the shift of CO2 emissions by tech companies to countries with less stringent climate policies is still moderate. But we can't help but suspect that this will change as cost pressures increase. Deutschlandfunk points out the risk that this will endanger European climate policy. Social justice in energy use? Hardly any topic of ours needs to be given greater consideration in this debate.

The path to sustainability

Another point that should not be forgotten is the important role that renewable energies have to play. In Germany, the share of renewable energies in 2023 was 56 percent, while Denmark and Norway are really ahead with 80.2 percent and even 99 percent. However, the efficiency in the use of these resources must also be increased. Companies like Microsoft and Google are aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030, which emphasizes adherence to sustainable practices.

Where will we go if the tech giants continue to proliferate without taking the environment into account? Sustainability in data centers is not only a question of conscience, but also an economic necessity. The future will decide whether we end up with a green or a gray footprint. The course must be set now so that AI does not become a climate killer!