Green hydrogen tech boss warns of AI energy consumption risk [Video]

The chief technology officer of Ceres Power has warned that as artificial intelligence tools become more widely used for efficiency, there is a risk that this could result in even higher energy consumption.

“What scares me is the energy consumption if you’re using ChatGPT [for simple queries],” Caroline Hargrove said during an “IOT: Powering the Digital Economy” panel on the new energy landscape.

Hargrove is CTO of Ceres Power, a developer of clean energy technology, including electrolysers for green hydrogen.

An International Energy Agency report, published in January, highlighted that on average a typical Google search uses 0.3 watt-hours of electricity versus 2.9 watt-hours for a ChatGPT request.

The report suggested that when this technology is incorporated into 9 billion searches daily, it would require nearly 10 terawatt-hours of additional electricity a year.  

More broadly, the IEA’s report said that by 2026, the “AI industry is expected to have grown exponentially to consume at least ten …