Aug 10 2023 42 mins
In episode 04 of the UPSTACK Podcast, co-hosts Greg Moss and Alex Cole are joined by Dr. Jonathan Koomey, an expert on the energy and environmental effects of information technology, to discuss the current power demands behind Artificial Intelligence. They break down the past hype cycles of the dot-com bubble, how the tech industry has adapted to large scale energy demands, and how the race for power behind AI might play out. Dr. Koomey holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, and an A.B. in History and Science from Harvard University. He is the author or coauthor of more than 200 articles and reports and ten books, including Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving and Solving Climate Change: A Guide for Learners and Leaders.
Show Links:
Koomey, Jonathan, and Eric Masanet. 2021. "Does not compute: Avoiding pitfalls assessing the Internet's energy and carbon impacts." Joule. vol. 5, no. 7. June 24. pp. 1625-1628. [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2542435121002117]
Masanet, Eric, Arman Shehabi, Nuoa Lei, Sarah Smith, and Jonathan Koomey. 2020. "Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates." Science. vol. 367, no. 6481. Feb 28. pp. 984. [http://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6481/984.abstract]
Koomey, Jonathan, and Ian Monroe. 2022. Solving climate change: A guide for learners and leaders. Bristol, UK: IOP Publishing. [http://www.solveclimate.org]
Koomey, Jonathan. 2017. Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving. 3rd ed. El Dorado Hills, CA: Analytics Press. [http://amzn.to/2wY1m7x]
Koomey, Jonathan. 2019. Estimating Bitcoin Electricity Use: A Beginner’s Guide. Washington, DC: Coin Center. May 7. [https://coincenter.org/entry/bitcoin-electricity]
Creutzig, Felix, Daron Acemoglu, Xuemei Bai, Paul N. Edwards, Marie Josefine Hintz, Lynn H. Kaack, Siir Kilkis, Stefanie Kunkel, Amy Luers, Nikola Milojevic-Dupont, Dave Rejeski, Jürgen Renn, David Rolnick, Christoph Rosol, Daniela Russ, Thomas Turnbull, Elena Verdolini, Felix Wagner, Charlie Wilson, Aicha Zekar, and Marius Zumwald. 2022. "Digitalization and the Anthropocene." Annual Review of Environment and Resources. vol. 47, no. 1. pp. 479-509. [https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-120920-100056]
Kaack, Lynn H., Priya L. Donti, Emma Strubell, George Kamiya, Felix Creutzig, and David Rolnick. 2022. "Aligning artificial intelligence with climate change mitigation." Nature Climate Change. vol. 12, no. 6. 2022/06/01. pp. 518-527. [https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01377-7]
IEA. 2017. Digitalization and Energy. Paris, France: International Energy Agency. November 5. [https://www.iea.org/digital/]