According to Microsoft’s Azure CTI Mark Russinovich, the aging American power grid could stunt the growth of artificial intelligence by limiting the size of data centers. Reed Albergotti reports in Semafor:
The data centers that make generative AI products like ChatGPT possible will soon reach size limits, according to Microsoft Azure Chief Technology Officer Mark Russinovich, necessitating a new method of connecting multiple data centers together for future generations of the technology.
The most advanced AI models today need to be trained inside a single building where tens (and soon hundreds) of thousands of AI processors, such as Nvidia’s H100s, can be connected so they act as one computer.
But as Microsoft and its rivals compete to build the world’s most powerful AI models, several factors, including America’s aging energy grid, will create a de facto cap on the size of a single data center, which soon could consume multiple gigawatts of power, equivalent to hundreds of thousands of homes.
Already, some parts of the national grid are overwhelmed on hot days, when air conditioners are running full blast, forcing rolling blackouts and brownouts.
Microsoft has been working furiously to help add capacity to the grid, inking a deal to reopen the Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant, launching a $30 billion fund for AI infrastructure with BlackRock and inking a $10 billion deal with Brookfield for green energy, among other projects.
Overhauling the US’ energy infrastructure was a big part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which provided $3 billion in incentives for building out transmission lines, among other priorities. But companies like Microsoft can’t afford to wait around for more money from Washington, on top of the time it would take to deploy those funds.
Action Line: Data centers are a new source of demand on America’s power generators and the utilities that transport the electricity. When you want to talk to Your Survival Guy about the ramifications of AI on your portfolio, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com. In the meantime, click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, and read more about AI data centers and power demand below.
- Data Centers Ramping Up Power Demand
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- How Will America Fill Its Data Center Power Gap?
- Amazon’s Nuclear Powered Data Center
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- America Needs Reliable Energy
