Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Clean AI: On AI data centres and energy demand

​Clean AI: On AI data centres and energy demand

The International Monetary Fund’s report that pointed to the likelihood (संभावना, मुमकिनता) of the economic gains of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications outweighing (अधिक महत्व रखना, भारी पड़ना) the environmental costs of the increased energy demand that AI data centres will require is reassuring. It underscores that this transformational (परिवर्तनकारी) technology is not fundamentally at odds with the global imperative (अनिवार्य, अत्यावश्यक) to pursue sustainable growth strategies across the board. Countries that are better prepared with renewable energy generation are bound to see a lower social and environmental cost to pursuing their AI ambitions. India’s AI infrastructure — at least the part of it that the government is indirectly funding through the IndiaAI Mission — does not rise to the level of weighing at a macro level on the nation’s energy mix. Still, the need for pursuing renewables specifically for AI is necessary to follow. This is already in a sense the government’s approach to the issue, outlined (रूपरेखा, सारांश) at the AI Action Summit in Paris earlier this year. While AI is not the sole industry where a push for renewable energy and sustainable practices is important, the sector nevertheless offers itself up for two main reasons. The first is the sheer volume of electricity that it is set to consume. The IMF’s report indicates that in the United States — the single largest home for AI computing capacity globally — “AI expansion alone could increase electricity prices by up to 9 percent, adding to price pressures coming from many other sources”. As such, renewable energy could play a major role in cushioning (Material used to soften or protect something) against a multifold rise in emissions (उत्सर्जन) that conventional energy sources would likely entail (शामिल करना, आवश्यक बनाना). The second is that data centres lend themselves uniquely to captive renewable infrastructure. Some Indian firms have already made moves to purchase renewable energy, and the hundreds of acres that data centres occupy are ripe for complementing equipment with solar cells. Nuclear energy may also turn out to be a welcome contribution: small modular reactors at emerging data centre clusters, in conjunction (संयोजक) with other renewable sources, would avert a sizeable quantity of emissions.

Electricity use is not the only environmental footprint (पदचिह्न, प्रभाव) that the AI age will leave behind — the technology requires large-scale mining of minerals and water use, and produces effluents (Liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea) in the manufacturing of the electronics supply chain. As electronics manufacturing is another space that India aspires to grow in, these opportunities must be pursued in this area too. India’s net zero target for 2070 will demand a scaling down of conventional (पारंपरिक) sources of emissions, and managing the rise of industries that are poised to expand their share of global energy consumption.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Likelihood (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संभावना, मुमकिनता
English Meaning - The state of being likely; the probability of something happening.

2.Outweigh (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - अधिक महत्व रखना, भारी पड़ना
English Meaning - Be heavier, greater, or more significant than.

3.Imperative (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्य, अत्यावश्यक
English Meaning - Of vital importance; crucial; an essential or urgent thing.

4.Transformational (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - परिवर्तनकारी
English Meaning - Causing or relating to a significant change, especially of appearance or character.

5.Outline (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - रूपरेखा, सारांश
English Meaning - A general plan or summary of a subject; give a summary of.

6.Conjunction (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - संयोजक
English Meaning - A word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause.

7.Emission (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - उत्सर्जन
English Meaning - The production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation.

8.Footprint (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - पदचिह्न, प्रभाव
English Meaning - The impression left by a foot or shoe; the extent of the effect of something.

9.Conventional (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - पारंपरिक
English Meaning - Based on or in accordance with what is generally done or believed.

10.Entail (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - शामिल करना, आवश्यक बनाना
English Meaning - Involve (something) as a necessary or inevitable part or consequence.

11.Cushioning (Noun)

English Meaning - Material used to soften or protect something.

12.Effluent (Noun)

English Meaning - Liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea.