Global warming appears to have shifted into a faster gear. After removing the effects of El Niño, volcanic eruptions, and solar cycles, researchers found that the planet has warmed at roughly 0.35°C per decade over the past ten years, compared with just under 0.2°C per decade from 1970 to 2015. The acceleration, which becomes visible around 2013 to 2015, appeared across five major global temperature datasets with more than 98% statistical certainty.
Plus in theory the data centers could be using green energy, makung their main impacts come from the cooling towers and additional mining of resources rather than the energy they consume. Its the same argument with EVs they are better if powered by green energy, but still better if the energy isn’t spent at all, for example being able to take a bike to the store rather than a 6000 lbs EV.
Right. In theory ai datacenters came along at the perfect time, when renewables are the cheapest power source. We could be using them to trigger a massive increase in renewable energy generation. That’s a nice fantasy
Some data centers are necessary for modern life. They facilitate pretty much everything you do online. Some could also be used to optimize the power grid when running on renewable energies.