AI is a power guzzler. Certainly, data centers do more harm than just driving up utility prices, but these facilities can still increase the average person’s electricity bills, even when data center owners pay for network access. However, Nvidia believes it has a solution: flexible data centers.
Recently, Nvidia announced that it has partnered with Google and Emerald AI to form the AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA). This group is designed to develop, support and manage AI data centers so that they can change the amount of power they require on the fly. For example, if a power grid is stretched to the breaking point because everyone is running their air conditioners to deal with a heat wave, AEMA-compliant data centers can limit their electricity use to reduce the likelihood of contributing to a power outage.
Emerald AI founder Varun Sivaram told Fortune that AEMA’s flexible data centers have many advantages, the most important of which is their affordability. According to Sivaram’s calculations, flexible data centers could free up 100 GW of energy, which would impact not only electricity consumption but also bills. Additionally, developers would not need to install their own power generation systems simply to meet energy demand, which would not only reduce the cost of setting up future data centers, but also free up millions of solar panels to power more than just AI computing models.
Is AEMA all it claims to be?
Luza Studios/Getty Images
On the surface, AEMA’s plans appear solid. Less power for data centers (at least when the average citizen needs more electricity) could not only reduce the cost of powering AI, but also reduce the resources needed to keep data centers cool. We’re talking more clean water and less electricity to power AC units in data centers. But some have doubts.
One of the biggest obstacles pointed out by skeptics is economic viability. Even if AEMA’s flexible data centers can reduce the amount of power servers need, will developers bother to invest in this technology? If AI companies fail to save as much money as Varun Sivaram claims, they could simply opt for standard infrastructure plans, especially if it allows them to get their data center up and running faster. However, while this hypothesis threatens to cripple Sivaram’s dreams, its success could pose an even greater danger.
Let’s assume AEMA is everything Google, Nvidia, and Emerald AI want and more. The coalition’s flexible data centers make starting a business easier and less expensive. So what? Perhaps the barriers to entry are lowering and we could see a surge for companies wanting to build countless new data centers. If all existing facilities become flexible, then we could potentially get some respite from high electricity bills. But what if countless more data centers were built? Well, each of them could consume less electricity from the grid during peak hours, but all operating at the same time could still increase overall electricity and water consumption.
