DARPA Backs Project to Measure AI Energy Use at Every Stage of the Workflow

The artificial intelligence boom is creating an energy monster. The indiscriminate integration of machine learning into everything from from our energy grids to our electric toothbrushes no, really has created a global race to build up data center capacity as quickly as humanly possible, causing energy demand projections to skyrocket and placing unprecedented strain on the world's energy grids.

By 2030, data center energy consumption is expected to more than double from its 2024 consumption level, which stood at about 420 terawatt-hours TWh. Proponents of artificial intelligence argue that, eventually, AI will save more energy than it consumes as its integration into nearly every economic sector imaginable makes all kinds of processes more efficient.