AI could soon consume more electricity than Bitcoin mining and entire countries

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust A hot potato: The global AI industry is quietly crossing an energy threshold that could reshape power grids and climate commitments. New findings reveal that the electricity required to run advanced AI systems may surpass Bitcoin mining's notorious energy appetite by late 2025, with implications that extend far beyond tech boardrooms. The rapid expansion of generative AI has triggered a boom in data center construction and hardware production. As AI applications become more complex and are more widely adopted, the specialized hardware that powers them, accelerators from the likes of Nvidia and AMD, has proliferated at an unprecedented rate. This surge has driven a dramatic escalation in energy consumption, with AI expected to account for nearly half of all data center electricity usage by next year, up from about 20 percent today. AI expected to account for nearly half of all data center ... Read full article.