How much electricity does AI consume?

AI’s energy consumption is a growing concern, with data centers accounting for 1 to 1.5 percent of global electricity use.
The boom in AI could significantly increase this figure. If current trends continue, NVIDIA could ship 1.5 million AI server units per year by 2027.
These servers could consume at least 85.4 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, more than many small countries.
AI’s energy-intensive nature is highlighted by the example of Google’s search engine. If it were fully turned into a generative AI like ChatGPT, its energy use would spike, requiring as much power as Ireland.
Sustainability should be considered a risk factor for AI, alongside errors, unknowns of the black box, and AI discrimination bias.
The energy problem of AI has been approached through hardware optimization, but this is becoming physically impossible. Algorithmic approaches are being explored instead.