AiZATION: Can we achieve Net Zero in the age of AI? A Wake-Up call for the data-driven World

  •   Sun, Jun 15 2025
  •   By Flavian Raymond D'Souza

June 15, 2025

As we chase the promise of Artificial Intelligence, there’s an urgent conversation we need to have — one that’s not just about innovation, but about infrastructure, energy, and sustainability.

Data centers, the digital fortresses powering our AI revolution, are on a staggering growth trajectory. Historically, a single rack consumed ~3 kW of power. Today, with the rise of AI workloads, racks can easily draw 100+ kW. It's estimated that data centers could consume nearly 10% of all U.S. electricity in the near future.
Todays platforms are likely to consume 10x more. This explosive demand brings with it an equally massive surge in energy needs — not just to run models, but also to power the entire ecosystem: cooling systems, storage, network gear, and peripheral infrastructure.

While AI holds enormous potential to optimize energy use — think of smart systems that reduce lighting and HVAC loads in retail, factories, and cities — the reality is: we're adding far more load to the grid than we're offsetting, at least for now.

So, here's the tough question:

Are we underestimating the energy impact of AI?

  • Should we mandate a 1:1 (or greater) renewable offset for every new watt AI consumes?
  • Do we need to recalibrate global Net Zero models to account for the exponential rise in digital infrastructure?
  • This is not just a technical issue — it’s a strategic, environmental, and policy challenge. We need macro-level, global conversations around AI’s carbon footprint, the
  • scalability of clean energy, and the responsible growth of intelligent systems.
  • Let’s ensure the rise of AI doesn’t come at the cost of our climate goals.
  • Because sustainability isn’t a side effect — it must be part of the architecture.
  • The goal is to balance what we emit and what we remove — so we stop heating up the planet.

Would love to hear your thoughts. How can we balance AI innovation with climate responsibility?

 

 
By Flavian Raymond D'Souza
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Comment on this article

  • Ronald Mathias, Mangalore / Bahrain

    Sun, Jun 15 2025

    Real-life AI risks. There are a myriad of risks to do with AI that we deal with in our lives today. Not every AI risk is as big and worrisome as killer robots or sentient AI. Some of the biggest risks today include things like consumer privacy, biased programming, danger to humans, and unclear legal regulation. More AI poses risks including job loss, deep fakes, biased algorithms, privacy violations, weapons automation and social manipulation.


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Title: AiZATION: Can we achieve Net Zero in the age of AI? A Wake-Up call for the data-driven World



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