by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
December 3, 2024
As more data centers pop up in the state and nationwide, the demand for energy could triple by the next decade.
Georgia Power is preparing customers for a higher electricity demand as AI usage grows.
According to WSB-TV, the company determined this potential outcome after releasing a report. The report detailed the increased number of data centers used for intelligence software. As more data centers pop up in the state and nationwide, the energy demand could triple in the next decade.
“If you put thousands of machines, say 10,000 computers, it’s going to get hot,” Emory Professor Rajiv Garg explained to the news outlet. “They need cooling power. They need processing power.”
This processing power remains crucial for more advanced searches typically used in AI, which rely on data centers to develop their responses. As AI searches become more common, especially through platforms like Chat GPT, so does the growing need for the centers. In July, the World Economic Forum asked the platform how much energy it uses.
“AI systems vary widely in energy consumption depending on their complexity and usage, but they generally require significant amounts of electricity to process and analyze data efficiently,” explained the generative AI.
In other words, searching on Chat GPT takes the same energy typically needed for 10 Google searches. The platform also boasts 200 million weekly users, with the United States accounting for the most at 14%, per Backlinko. With this in mind, concerns over AI’s efficiency loom despite its advantages.
Garg added, “AI is going to be phenomenal, but we need to learn how to use AI efficiently as well.”
However, what this increased electricity use will mean for people’s wallets is not fully clear. Fortunately, Garg believes that prices should even out in time, although they will initially rise to keep up with the demand. While the professor emphasizes that one’s Georgia Power bill will go down to its “equilibrium point,” there is no telling of when exactly that will be.
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