Artificial intelligence and the hardware that powers it, is at the heart of a fallout in Pennsylvania, where electricity prices have risen dramatically for wholesalers and consumers due to surging demand. The governor is now threatening to abandon the state’s grid energy provider, PJM Interconnection, via Reuters. He’s demanding that PJM increase energy capacity through the acceleration of new energy plant construction and approval.
Following the launch of ChatGPT in 2023 and the explosion of competitor tools and chatbots in the months that followed, the regional transmission organization, PJM, saw a surge in demand for power as major tech companies scoured the country looking for spare grid capacity to run AI and build new data centers to support them. AI can demand a lot of power, so much so that Elon Musk is shipping an entire power plant to the US.
This couldn’t have come at a worse time, as in 2022, PJM had paused new power plant connections after it faced a huge influx of applications for new renewable projects, which required more engineering oversight before they could be connected to the grid. Although PJM claims that this hasn’t led to a shortfall in supply, it has meant the grid hasn’t expanded like it was expected to. Local opposition to the construction of some of the plants that have been approved has further compounded the issue.
You’re right. As an environmental impactor AI is a very recent player. Gaming has been bigtime for decades. If anyone is keeping score they should really looik at gaming’s history of power consumption going back through the 90s. Seems like AI got a lotta catching up to do before it overtakes gaming’s enviromental impact.
Nice bit of pointless whataboutism. What’s the energy impact of mobile phone use globally (which I’m sure you’re currently using to add your 2 pence with.
No I didn’t look at phone use, but who has? The underlying point is really that when people are screaming about a reason something is horrible, and they’re confronted with the information that something they personally do is in the same ballpark (and has been for decades), how should they respond? With a little self examination? Question their own priorities slightly? Apparently not. Just insults, denial, and debate-club bullshit. Like their favorite entertainment is sacred. It’s exactly how the business world responded to climate change - deny, deflect, disengage. Very disingenuous.