DeepSeek claims to have cured AI’s environmental headache. The Jevons paradox suggests it might make things worse

Monday 17 Feb 2025
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Photo by Massimo Botturi on Unsplash

AI burns through a lot of resources. And thanks to a paradox first identified way back in the 1860s, even a more energy-efficient AI is likely to simply mean more energy is used in the long run.

One study suggests the AI industry will be consuming somewhere between 85 and 134 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity by 2027. That’s a similar amount of energy as the Netherlands consumes each year. One prominent researcher predicts that by 2030, over 20% of all electricity produced in the US will be feeding AI data centres (huge warehouses filled with computers).

Read more in The Conversation here