WASHINGTON: The artificial intelligence arms race has gone nuclear. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are now looking to outgun each other with announcements on atomic energy, which they hope will power a technology that is consuming electricity at an alarming rate.

The US tech juggernauts, convinced that AI is technology’s next big chapter, are investing billions to expand data centres globally.

According to Goldman Sachs research, data centres will consume 8 per cent of US power by 2030, up from 3pc in 2022.

In Europe, their power needs by 2030 will match the current combined consumption of Portugal, Greece, and the Netherlands.

The driving force is the tech giants that want to build the best AI systems they can using bigger and bigger data centres, which incur a tremendous amount of electricity consumption and CO2 emissions.

As tech companies seek energy sources to meet these demands while maintaining their zero-carbon emission commitments, nuclear power has emerged as a compelling option.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024