(Amy Harder – Axios) Electricity demand is becoming the clearest measure of the AI industry’s extraordinary expansion — and a test of how long that pace can last. The industry’s pursuit of ever-larger models is fueling debate over whether they will deliver enough value to justify mounting environmental and financial costs. Google, Microsoft and Amazon all highlighted improved energy and water efficiency in sustainability reports released in recent weeks. But those gains are being overwhelmed by overall growth. Google’s electricity consumption rose more than 140% between 2021 and 2025 — already exceeding the outer bounds of projected growth modeled in a 2023 paper by Alex de Vries-Gao, a researcher at VU Amsterdam and founder of online platform Digiconomist. – The AI boom tests the limits of growth
The AI boom tests the limits of growth
Related articles
