To date, the meteoric growth of artificial intelligence has proven largely out of control. As the technology has swept through the tech industry like wildfire, regulators have failed to stay ahead of its proliferation and evolution. Questions about the scope and liability of artificial intelligence abound, but answers are few and far between. Then there is the issue of the sector’s huge and growing energy footprint and associated carbon emissions, which developed countries are now paying for. Facing a major energy crisis It’s a situation not seen since before the shale revolution.
“AI-powered services require significantly more computing power, and therefore electricity, than regular online activity, sparking a series of warnings about the technology’s environmental impact,” the BBC recently reported. Recent Research A study by Cornell University scientists found that generative AI systems like ChatGPT consume up to 33 times more energy than a computer running task-specific software, and that an AI-powered internet query uses about 10 times more energy than a standard search.
The global AI sector is 3.5 percent By 2030, data centers alone will account for one-third of the world’s electricity consumption. It could consume 9% of electricity production by 2030The move is already sending ripples through big tech companies: Earlier this month, Google revealed that its carbon emissions had soared to more than double what they are now. 48 percent in the past five years.
Not only does the United States need a massive increase in renewable energy to keep up with the insatiable demands of the technology sector, it also needs to ramp up energy production even more to avoid serious shortages. Slowing runaway AI energy consumption will require widespread and rapid action on multiple fronts, but the United States’ own national security concerns require it to keep up with other nations’ AI spending and development. The genie is out of the bottle, and there’s no putting him back in.
“Certain strategic areas of U.S. government artificial intelligence capabilities currently lag behind industry, while foreign adversaries are making massive AI investments,” it said. Recent Department of Energy (DoE) bulletins “If the U.S. government does not quickly assume leadership in this field, the nation risks falling behind in developing safe and trustworthy AI for national security, energy, and scientific discovery, which could undermine our ability to address pressing domestic and global challenges.”
Therefore, the question now is not how to prevent a global AI takeover, but how to fast track new energy sources, how to place strategic limits on the rate of growth and consumption in the energy sector, and how to ensure that AI is used responsibly for the benefit of the energy sector, countries, their people, and the world at large.
To this end, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has proposed a new agency-wide initiative to harness and advance artificial intelligence for the public benefit. report This month, the Department of Energy released a roadmap for the program, which was first mentioned publicly in May of this year. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) It involves coordinated collaboration among all 17 Department of Energy national laboratories.
The program will be focused on remaining competitive in AI on a global scale, but will also devote significant resources to creating more energy-efficient computer models to ensure the nation’s energy security and climate goals are not compromised in the process. The program’s five overarching goals are:
- 1. Promoting National Security
- 2. Attract and develop talented people
- 3. Using AI for Scientific Discovery
- 4. Addressing Energy Issues
- 5. Developing the technical expertise needed for AI governance
Under the goal of “Addressing our Energy Challenges,” the Department of Energy states, “FASST will unlock new clean energy sources, optimize energy production, improve grid resiliency, and build the advanced energy economy of tomorrow. America needs low-cost energy to support economic growth, and FASST will help meet this challenge.”
The proposed FASST program would be an important step in the right direction toward the responsible growth and application of artificial intelligence in the United States, but it requires Congressional authorization and funding before it can be implemented. Bipartisan Bill It has already been submitted to the Senate.
Article by Haley Zaremba of Oilprice.com
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