The invisible factory behind AI

AI depends on physical infrastructure: chips, data centres, cooling and electricity. In the IEA base case, global data-centre electricity use roughly doubles to around 945 TWh by 2030.

Rear of the Hopper racks at NERSC (2011): the physical infrastructure behind computation. Not a contemporary AI data centre or an energy-use measurement.
Derrick Coetzee (Dcoetzee) · CC0 1.0 · Source · Licence
Resized and padded to 4:3; no crop.
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Why it is in the museum

This room separates what is already happening, strong trends and genuinely uncertain futures.

Evidence for this exhibit

Institutional / scientific source

This source supports the dated event and the core claim described in this exhibit.

Main source: International Energy Agency, Energy and AI.

Open source

What to keep in mind: The evidence is used only for the claim stated on this page; broader interpretations remain curatorial.

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