Carlini predicts that by 2024, data centers will need to operate off renewable utility sources and collaborate more with local utilities to manage high-demand times. He also foresees governments finding better ways to bring more distributed renewable power onto the grid, and data center operators adding on-site energy storage. He also anticipates the rise of edge computing and liquid cooling due to the need for AI models close to the user and data, and the heat generated by servers respectively. He concludes by stating that data centers are the enablers for AI's promise and expresses optimism that they will rise to meet the AI challenge.
Key takeaways:
- For AI to become more powerful, substantial, dedicated data center capacity will be needed with much more at the edge—closer to the users and data.
- In 2024, sustainable operations will be a core requirement for new data center capacity, with many countries requiring efficient, water-conserving designs that operate off renewable utility sources.
- Data center operators will collaborate more with their local utilities to manage demand during peak use times, and will start adding multiple hours of on-site energy storage.
- The year 2024 will see the proliferation of edge computing and liquid cooling, with edge AI models making systems and processes more efficient for many industries.