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The New York Times has an interesting story:
The computer engine rooms that power the digital economy have become surprisingly energy efficient.
A new study of data centers globally found that while their computing output jumped sixfold from 2010 to 2018, their energy consumption rose only 6 percent. The scientists' findings suggest concerns that the rise of mammoth data centers would generate a surge in electricity demand and pollution have been greatly overstated.
The major force behind the improving efficiency is the shift to cloud computing. In the cloud model, businesses and individuals consume computing over the internet as services, from raw calculation and data storage to search and social networks.
There may yet be hope for data centers.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2020, @01:48PM (1 child)
Of course if we're going to use data centers it's good news that they don't consume inordinate amounts of power. But huge collections of data in the hands of a few corporations would seem to offer fertile ground for exploitative AI or other abuses, and my paranoia tells me that we'd be better off without them.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Sunday March 01 2020, @02:17PM
The technology needed to enable an unprecedented automated surveillance state exists today. China is leading the way, and the U.S. will follow.
Now make the computing, storage, networking, etc. 10x or 100x more efficient/cheap than it is right now.
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