The AI Challenge
Article from MHI Solutions Magazine
Discussions about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the supply chain tend to focus on all the potential benefits it offers for improving operations. But those improvements come at a cost that is just now starting to receive more attention: Implementing AI places considerable demands on power and water resources.
The data centers required by AI to process data are power hungry and could disrupt the grid in some areas within the next few years.
“Until about a year ago, people saw this power problem coming, but they didn’t really understand that we’re going to run out of power,” Bob Johnson, VP analyst at Gartner, said. The firm estimates the power required for data centers to run AI servers will reach 500 terawatt‑hours (TWh) per year in 2027, which is 2.6 times the level required in 2023…
