Alphabet’s top executive cautioned that a potential burst of the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble could have far-reaching effects on all companies. Sundar Pichai, in a recent interview with the BBC, acknowledged the surge in AI investments driven by irrationality, sparking a tech boom this year. Concerns over a possible collapse of the AI bubble have triggered a market downturn worldwide in recent months.
When questioned about the impact on Google if the AI bubble were to burst, Pichai emphasized that no company, including Google, would be immune to the repercussions. The interview, released on Monday, delved into longstanding worries related to AI, such as energy consumption, environmental sustainability, accuracy, and the potential displacement of jobs.
Pichai highlighted the substantial energy demands of AI, revealing that AI usage accounted for 1.5% of the global electricity consumption in the previous year according to the International Energy Agency. The global computing footprint of AI is projected to escalate to 200 gigawatts by 2030, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Brazil, with half of this amount anticipated in the United States.
The escalating geopolitical tensions have fueled a surge in the tech industry to construct extensive data centers housing tens of thousands of chips that necessitate a significant amount of electricity and large-scale cooling systems.