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May 2025
25m 3s

Pretty Art, Ugly Footprint: Building Sus...

Takshashila Institution
About this episode

In today's episode of "All Things Policy," Adya Madhavan and Anwesha Sen delve into the escalating energy demands of Artificial Intelligence. They discuss how the rapid growth of AI, exemplified by tools like ChatGPT, comes with a significant and often overlooked environmental cost due to the immense electricity consumption of data centers. The conversation highlights concerns about the sustainability of this trend, with projections suggesting data centers could use 10% of the world's electricity by 2030. While India currently has sufficient capacity for its AI needs, proactive planning for future energy demands is crucial. The episode explores potential sustainable solutions, specifically questioning whether leveraging nuclear energy through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) could be a viable alternative to support the booming AI and data infrastructure.


Read more: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/redrawing-the-not-so-pretty-energy-footprint-of-ai/article69541375.ece


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All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.

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