A lot of power for AI and cloud datacenters.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20016368

Modern AI data centers consume enormous amounts of power, and it looks like they will get even more power-hungry in the coming years as companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI strive towards artificial general intelligence (AGI). Oracle has already outlined plans to use nuclear power plants for its 1-gigawatt datacenters. It looks like Microsoft plans to do the same as it just inked a deal to restart a nuclear power plant to feed its data centers, reports Bloomberg.

  • xantoxis@lemmy.worldEnglish
    204·
    3 months ago

    Jesus Christ.

    Look, I’m in favor of nuclear power. We have new designs that are much, much safer than the ones that failed back in the 80’s. Even so, we can get a Fukushima event; not world-ending but still pretty terrible.

    The thing is, no matter how safe the design, Microsoft and other companies dialed in on greed–especially companies for whom power generation is not their core competency–can be trusted to cut corners until those safe designs become dangerous again.

    And Three Mile Island WAS NOT A SAFE DESIGN.

    What the fuck are we doing?

    • xantoxis@lemmy.worldEnglish
      17·
      3 months ago

      I did get a chuckle out of this though:

      The facility will need to be fully restaffed

      Yeah, it’s been 45 years, I don’t think those folks were waiting around for the place to reopen.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      3·
      3 months ago

      Constellation Energy will invest $1.6 billion to restart its Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.

    • FaceDeer@fedia.io
      3·
      3 months ago

      Microsoft is not going to be running the reactor. You didn’t read the article.