Will AI worsen climate change?

Data centers are major energy consumers, raising questions about the necessity for them to have their own carbon-neutral power sources. One data center can demand 50 times the electricity of a typical office building, with future energy needs outpacing available resources. This situation has led some states to consider prolonging the operation of coal-fired plants to meet demand. However, green energy projects face delays due to bureaucratic hurdles and industry lobbying. Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which consumed 72TWh of electricity in 2021, are expanding their data center operations. Google has notably invested in renewable energy projects to