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

AI Summary

DARPA is backing a project to measure energy use throughout AI workflows as data-center demand rises alongside wider machine-learning adoption. The article says data-center electricity consumption, estimated at about 420 units in 2024, is expected to more than double by 2030, increasing pressure on energy grids.

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…