The AI boom tests the limits of growth

Electricity demand is becoming the clearest measure of the AI industry's extraordinary expansion and a test of how long that pace can last. The huge amount of energy required for AI is raising questions about whether the industry's push toward ever-larger models is producing benefits that justify these growing resource demands. In recent interviews, top sustainability executives at tech companies didn't directly answer if they would reconsider growth in the face of environmental concerns. The potential for AI to improve people's lives and curb emissions is playing an increasingly large role in tech companies' sustainability messaging.