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Title: AI Could Consume More Power Than Bitcoin By the End of 2025

Link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/05/31/...

Artificial intelligence could soon outpace Bitcoin mining in energy
consumption, according to Alex de Vries-Gao, a PhD candidate at Vrije
Universiteit Amsterdam's Institute for Environmental Studies. His research
estimates that by the end of 2025, AI could account for nearly half of all
electricity used by data centers worldwide -- raising significant concerns
about its impact on global climate goals. "While companies like Google and
Microsoft disclose total emissions, few provide transparency on how much of
that is driven specifically by AI," notes DIGIT. To fill this gap, de Vries-
Gao employed a triangulation method combining chip production data, corporate
disclosures, and industry analyst estimates to map AI's growing energy
footprint. His analysis suggests that specialized AI hardware could consume
between 46 and 82 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025 -- comparable to the annual
energy usage of countries like Switzerland. Drawing on supply chain data, the
study estimates that millions of AI accelerators from NVIDIA and AMD were
produced between 2023 and 2024, with a potential combined power demand
exceeding 12 gigawatts (GW). A detailed explanation of his methodology is
available in his commentary published in Joule.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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