Latest news with #AIrace
Finextra
4 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
The AI energy crisis: Why chatbots are using up our drinking water
0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Just this week, the Trump administration has introduced its new 'AI Action Plan' with the direct aim to speed up the adoption of AI and the build of more data centres, all the while cutting regulation to enable this. As the world continues its AI race, how much is too much? Concerns have long been raised about the amount of energy AI uses. The International Energy Agency has stated that, by 2030, electricity demand for AI-optimised data centres is forecast to more than quadruple. Similarly, increasingly large amounts of water are required to produce the energy needed to power AI. On top of that, data centres themselves have started using water in order to cope with the boom in AI usage. Historically, data centres have used air cooling systems, which was sufficient to cool systems up until AI came along. Now, air cooling is no longer enough to prevent systems from overheating. Generative AI uses up to 33 times more energy than machines running task-specific software, which is why liquid cooling mechanisms have been implemented in many data centres. The problem with liquid cooling, however, is that it relies on clean water in order to prevent corrosion to the systems or the growth of bacteria. The solution: Drinking water. And while the water used in the cooling mechanism is designed to be re-introduced into the natural water source, up to 80% evaporates in the process. 'What this means is that this type of water is gone, and we are extracting water from a water circuit that is necessary for irrigation, for human consumption and hygiene,' Lorena Jaume-Palasí, founder of the Ethical Tech Society, commented in the BBC. Dr Venkatesh Uddameri, an expert in water resources management, is additionally quoted stating that a 'typical data centre can use between 11 million and 19 million litres of water per day, roughly the same as a town of 30,000 to 50,000 people.' Data centres put pressure on the water sources of local communities While many tech giants like Microsoft, Facebook and Google have pledged to be water neutral by 2030, AI has changed the equation. One of the latest concerns has been Elon Musk's self-proclaimed 'largest data centre in the world' for xAI, Colossus, build in Memphis in 2024. Apart from sidestepping environmental laws, the 'expected water demand is 5+ million gallons per day in an area where arsenic pollution threatens the drinking water supply,' according to a local non-profit concerned about the data centre's environmental impact. Memphis is not alone. Research by Bloomberg News found that in the US, 'two thirds of new data centres built or in development since 2022 are in places already gripped by high levels of water stress.' In the UK, Prime Minister Starmer aims to become a world leader in AI, having pledged a £2 billion investment to data centre growth and digital skills development. However, some of these centres are proposed to be built in areas already under threat of water shortages. On top of that, the government has designated data centres as 'critical national infrastructure', which means they will face fewer planning restrictions than traditional developments. How do we fix the AI water problem? There is good news as well, which is that companies are already working on technology to be more water efficient. Closed-loop and immersion cooling are being adopted by companies like Microsoft in order to implement zero-water cooling systems. Closed-loop cooling eliminates the need for evaporating water, allowing systems to re-circulate coolants continuously. Immersion cooling is another technique applied, which sees servers submerged in non-conductive fluids. According to DataCentre, 'these fluids either circulate passively or follow a two-phase process, evaporating to absorb heat and condensing for reuse. There are no pumps, fans or water involved.' Communities around the world are urging their governments to ensure water and energy are part of the equastion. In the UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering has asked the government to ensure tech companies accurately report how much water and energy their data centres are using as the country gears up to become a 'world leader in AI.' The report also asks to introduce sustainability requirements for all data centres, including the move to zero-water cooling in order to preserve precious fresh water reserves. The crucial step is ensuring the water problem is being considered industry-wide, and that companies are being held accountable for their water and energy usage, as well as their dedication toward reducing their environmental impact. Unchecked AI expansion will only move us closer to Day Zero.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Donald Trump signs executive orders ramping up AI exports with caveat of ending unchecked ‘woke' technology
Donald Trump has signed three executive orders he claims will crown America victors of the 'AI race,' including a hard stance on 'woke' artificial intelligence. The president and his administration unveiled its AI action plan, 'Winning the AI Race,' in Washington which look to lift the restrictions and 'red tape' of safeguards and standards on AI from former President Joe Biden that limited its development. The order announced the ramped up export and sale of US AI software and hardware overseas and looks to speed up construction of data centres in the US running AI products. 'America is the country that started the AI race. And as president of the United States, I'm here today to declare that America is going to win it,' Trump declared. 'We also have to have a single federal standard, not 50 different states regulating this industry in the future. 'America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with a green light, not strangled with red tape'. The 24-page plan includes over 90 recommendations as the US looks to get ahead of countries like China also quickly developing AI models in hopes of becoming the global leader for the new tech. 'Winning this competition will be a test of our capacities unlike anything since the dawn of the space age.' The order is also a part of Mr Trump's expansive campaign targeting institutions such as schools and agencies promoting diversity. 'The American people do not want woke Marxist lunacy in the AI models, and neither do other countries,' he said. The move now extends to Mr Trump's longstanding grievances with tech companies that Republicans have accused of quashing right wing principles. With AI's output over the internet becoming near unrestricted and unchecked in recent times, companies will need to comply with the plan to ensure their restrictions are eased. On top of loosened restrictions, which the tech industry has been pushing for, the president's order also emphasised the AI race as one of geopolitical supremacy. With China already investing billions into manufacturing for AI products and datacentres, their output is expected to be ahead of US output thus far, which the Trump administration hopes will change. The most bizarre moment came with Mr Trump even suggesting a change of name for AI, claiming he doesn't like the word 'artificial.' 'I can't stand it,' he said. 'I don't even like the name, you know? I don't like anything that's artificial. So could we straighten that out, please? We should change the name. I actually mean that. 'It's not artificial. It's genius.'
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Alphabet Slips After Boosting Guidance for Capital Expenditures
Alphabet Inc. reported better-than-expected revenue but said 2025 capital expenditures will be higher than previously forecast, intensifying pressure on the company to justify the investments it is making to keep up in the AI race. Shares slipped about 2.8% in late trading after the search giant said capital expenditures would be $85 billion, compared to the $75 billion the company guided earlier this year.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Trump's megabill could slow AI progress in US
The elimination of federal renewable energy tax credits in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act has major implications for the global AI race. Ultimately, the shift means slowing down US progress on new energy production, which is key to winning the technology Cold War with China. There is no possible way tech companies can power the massive rollout of AI factories without solar, and now it will be that much more expensive. But the attempt to throw a lifeline to the fossil fuel industry could be too little, too late, as detailed in this New Yorker article by Bill McKibben. The rate of solar adoption is now about a gigawatt every 15 hours. A gigawatt is the output of a typical nuclear power plant. Solar isn't just cheaper than fossil fuels. It's also faster to deploy, which is crucial in the AI race. The expansion of AI data centers is creating new economic incentives for innovation in renewables, from geothermal to fusion to new battery chemistries, which can store all that new solar power. It's a topic I expect we'll be covering more and more here in the coming months.
E&E News
11-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
NextEra Energy CEO urges Republicans to keep renewables on the table
The head of the one of the nation's largest power providers said he agrees with Republicans on the need for the United States to bring back domestic manufacturing and to win the AI race. But the GOP bid to repeal clean energy tax credits, attack China using trade rules and boost the nuclear and coal industry will make their goal to dominate in energy impossible. NextEra Energy Chair and CEO John Ketchum told the POLITICO Energy Summit on Tuesday that the anticipated surge in power demand over the next 20 years could make the country vulnerable to energy shortages and reliability problems if 'we take renewables off the table.' 'We cannot afford to do that. If we do that, we will lose the AI race, and we will bring this economic expansion in the United States to a screeching halt,' said Ketchum, whose FPL utility subsidiary is the power provider for President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. Advertisement lead image
