PALO ALTO, California -- Artificial intelligence is dangerous. But the main risk may not be the one popularized by Hollywood -- a malevolent superintelligence bent on destroying humanity. Instead, AI itself could be benign, but its insatiable appetite for energy and growing carbon footprint could present a far greater threat: the acceleration of wildfires, floods, extreme weather and all of the dangers that come with climate change.
AI-dedicated data centers will require 90 trillion watt-hours of electricity globally by 2026, over 10 times the amount they used in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. The environmental impact of that huge boom in energy demand is becoming more difficult to ignore. © Nikkei montage
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AI's looming climate cost: Energy demand surges amid data center race
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