Why Bill Gates doesn’t think energy-hungry AI systems are a cause for concern

There appears to be growing concern in the energy community about emerging artificial intelligence (AI) systems and data centers consuming more and more electricity as they spread and become integrated into the global economy.

For example, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its latest assessment stated that electricity consumption could double in just four years from the level of 460 terawatt hours (TWh) recorded in 2022.

Already today, AI-enabled data centers could consume a combined 1,000 TWh per year by 2026, roughly equivalent to the total annual electricity consumption of Japan, a country of 125 million people.

The chief executive of the UK’s multinational utility National Grid, John Pettigrew, also warned in March that AI and quantum computing could drive a six-fold increase in data centre energy consumption over the next decade. Last week, Rystad Energy forecast that the growth of data centres and the electric vehicle (EV) fleet could increase US electricity demand by around 300 TWh by 2030.

So should we be worried about the potential for power grids to creak as AI and data centers grow? According to billionaire tech philanthropist and financier Bill Gates, not entirely.

Keep calm and don’t interrupt

Speaking at a summit for his company Breakthrough Energy in London last week, Gates urged people not to “overreact” to the huge amounts of electricity that will be required to run new artificial intelligence systems and rapidly expanding global data centres.

Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft (the company Gates is famous for co-founding) are just some of the companies investing billions of dollars to expand their data center networks.

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But many have also signed long-term power purchase agreements with utilities and suppliers that rely on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Of course, these may not necessarily offset all of the carbon emissions associated with data centers.

Data centers will drive 2-6% growth in global electricity consumption, Gates said. But he added: “The question is, will AI accelerate the reduction by more than 6%? And the answer is: certainly.”

“Tech companies are the people who are willing to pay a premium and help increase green energy capacity,” he said.

The billionaire philanthropist believes that artificial intelligence will be a help, not a hindrance, in achieving climate goals, despite growing concerns about the strain such systems place on global energy networks.

We won’t reach net zero emissions by 2050.

However, Gates noted that despite advances in artificial intelligence and clean technologies, the world is likely to miss its 2050 climate goals by up to 15 years.

“Overall, I’m concerned that the amount of green electricity we need for the transition won’t arrive as quickly as we need. If you try to plan it and say, “Let’s get to zero by 2050,” you think, “Another 10 or 15 years might be more realistic.” This is very difficult to see. “I don’t think we’ll get to zero by 2050.” – added.

Gates’ Breakthrough Energy has invested in more than 100 companies developing clean technology and sustainable energy technologies to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. TerraPower, another of his companies, operates as a design engineering and technology development company for nuclear reactors.

In March, Gates praised the city of Houston, the U.S. energy capital, for its potential to become the Silicon Valley of Energy, noting: “This is where the heroic effort begins. I’m very excited about this.

“But we shouldn’t underestimate how incredibly difficult the energy transition challenge will be,” he added, noting that the effort will likely be “much, much more difficult” than anything he has worked on at Microsoft.