National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: 8 Efficiency Through Technology Advancement: Hardware–Software Interactions
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Statement of Task." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Implications of Artificial Intelligence–Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29101.
×

A

Statement of Task

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize a public workshop to explore trends, drivers, and implications of data center electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions related to artificial intelligence. The workshop will bring together a diverse group of expert stakeholders from the electricity industry, the computing industry including producers and users of artificial intelligence (AI), and the policy-making and regulatory community to discuss areas such as:

  • Trends, drivers, and trade-offs related to AI that have the potential to impact energy demands;
  • Application of AI tools to facilitate energy and water efficiency improvements in data centers;
  • Standardizing benchmarks and accounting methods for energy efficiency and carbon emissions within the Information Technology sector;
  • Trends in electricity markets, electrification, and options for all sectors to meet net-zero goals under increased demand for electricity;
  • Regional considerations related to data center siting and clean generation resource availability.

The aim of the workshop is to understand how to map, measure, and mitigate the impacts of AI as they relate to data center electricity usage. Possible outcomes include describing the proportion of current

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Statement of Task." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Implications of Artificial Intelligence–Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29101.
×

data center electricity use and emissions related to AI; identifying a range of scenarios for potential increased electricity use and emissions; identifying options to mitigate potential increased electricity use and emissions; and catalyzing conversations among stakeholders on new approaches to understanding and meeting these challenges.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Statement of Task." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Implications of Artificial Intelligence–Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29101.
×
Page 85
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Statement of Task." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Implications of Artificial Intelligence–Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29101.
×
Page 86
Next: Appendix B: Workshop Agenda »
Implications of Artificial Intelligence–Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions: Proceedings of a Workshop Get This Book
×
 Implications of Artificial Intelligence–Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions: Proceedings of a Workshop
Buy Paperback | $18.00 Buy Ebook | $14.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

In recent years, the global adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has spurred significant construction and investment in new data centers and cloud computing. These data centers require large-scale continuous power, posing challenges for local electric grids and broader climate goals. To explore how to map, measure, and mitigate the impacts of AI data center electricity usage, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened the workshop Implications of Artificial Intelligence-Related Data Center Electricity Use and Emissions in Washington, DC, on November 12-13, 2024. Organized through the National Academies Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change, the event gathered more than 95 in-person and more than 350 virtual participants from academia, the technology industry, electric utilities, community advocacy groups, and government agencies to discuss how recent AI developments could impact energy demands, identify options to mitigate increased electricity use and emissions, and consider regional implications related to data center siting and renewable resource availability. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

READ FREE ONLINE

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!