Ireland’s Entire Power Grid at Risk Because of Demands for AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) might sound good on paper to investors, but it’s turning out to be an unmitigated disaster in terms of application. We’re not even talking about the hordes of middle-class workers who will eventually be displaced by AI, although that’s horrifying on its own. The electricity demand to run these AI programs is now so high that it has outpaced the energy production capacities of most countries on earth. Ireland’s power grid, for example, is nearly overwhelmed by the growth of the AI sector.
The amount of electricity required to sustain the current growth rate of AI is doubling every 100 days. There are only 16 countries on Earth that currently produce more electricity than AI produces. The surge in electricity demand is overwhelming the available power supply in most countries.
The power grid in Ireland isn’t even close to being able to handle the demand growth from AI. Many other EU countries are in the same boat because of their rush to adopt stupid and inefficient production methods like windmills and solar panels. AI consumed 21% of Ireland’s power production in the last year, which is more than what’s needed to power every residential home in the country.
Ireland’s Commission for Regulation of Utilities estimates that the country will begin experiencing power shortages within the next year because of AI. Consumers will also face staggering electricity costs because of the shortages that the AI sector is causing.
The UK is in a similarly dire predicament. AI is expected to create a 500% increase in the demand for energy over the next 10 years.
Just to be clear, millions of workers are going to be fired in the coming years when companies fall for what’s known as “the doorman fallacy.” Then, everyone’s power bill will skyrocket because we’re not going to be able to windmill our way out of AI’s electric demands. Why are we doing this again?