Uncanny Valley | WIRED How Data Centers Actually Work
81 snips
Oct 23, 2025 Molly Taft, a senior writer for WIRED focusing on energy and the environment, dives into the complexities of data centers, especially the surge in AI infrastructure. She discusses the significant energy and water consumption of these facilities, as well as the political dimensions surrounding them. The conversation touches on the role of GPUs in AI processing and the environmental concerns that often go unreported. Molly also highlights the competition among tech giants and the potential risks of over-expansion, urging citizens to engage with local energy issues.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
How A Query Reaches A Data Center
- ChatGPT queries travel to data centers and are processed on GPUs which run parallel calculations to generate responses.
- The model predicts tokens during inference and sends the answer back over the network within seconds.
Energy Use Varies Widely By Location
- Data centers consume large amounts of energy for compute, cooling, and networking, and their footprint varies by grid energy mix.
- Regional examples show rapid growth: Ireland uses >20% of electricity for data centers and Virginia faces a looming demand cliff.
Single Numbers Mislead On Energy
- Published per-query energy claims lack transparency and often omit context like query types and grid sources.
- Without standard efficiency metrics, single numbers can mislead and delay accountability.
