AI systems are gobbling up energy. Here’s what it may mean for future of infrastructure

Artificial intelligence systems are digital, but they are very much dependent on the physical world. As demand for this virtual technology surges, tech companies that want to keep advancing AI face a much more tangible problem: sourcing enough electricity.

AI systems, particularly large language models like ChatGPT, are energy-intensive due to their immense computational needs. The leading AI models have taken in massive amounts of publicly available text on the internet. Processing the data and trying to draw insights from it both require a ton of electricity.