Should We Turn the Electricity Grid Over To AI?

"Essentially, the grid must evolve into one giant computer."

 


Image for illustration purposes.

The Power Grid Today

America’s power grid is a complex, patchwork behemoth. As Department of Energy researchers Keith J. Benes, Joshua E. Porterfield, and Charles Yang described in an extensive 2024 report, “It consists of tens of thousands of power generators delivering electricity across more than 600,000 circuit miles of transmission lines, 70,000 substations, 5.5 million miles of distribution lines, and 180 million power poles. This system evolved organically over a century of piecemeal additions, and now operates at the heart of America’s $28 trillion economy.”

AI and the Power Supply

With the rise of large language models and the electricity-hungry data centers required to power them, AI has recently been viewed as an impediment to decarbonizing the grid. But many scientists and grid experts say that AI systems utilizing deep learning and machine learning are exactly what’s needed for a futuristic grid powered by renewables.

Source: Ross Pomeroy at Freethink.com – “Can we run the grid of the future without AI?