Microsoft is fully committed to AI in its applications. The Copilot is intended to become a central contact point for Windows users. Microsoft even had its co-pilot create a baking book. But with all the hype surrounding artificial intelligence, what is often overlooked is how much computing power is required. And the data centers required for this consume huge amounts of electricity. Microsoft obviously wants to get this electricity from nuclear power plants.
The Wall Street Journal reports (behind paywall) that Microsoft is relying on nuclear power to implement its AI projects. According to forecasts, Windows Copilot (which is currently not available to German Windows 11 users, but can be activated with a trick) and ChatGPT will consume as much electricity as a country the size of the Netherlands in 2027: between 85 and 134 terawatt hours. The water consumption of Microsoft and OpenAI is also huge: For every request to ChatGPT or Copilot or the corresponding ChatGPT offshoots in Skype, Bing, etc., a bottle of water is actually required for cooling, as Windowscentral reports.
Because Microsoft wants to reduce its carbon emissions, the electricity for its AI data centers cannot come from coal, oil or gas power plants. Unlike in Germany, there are hardly any reservations against the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the USA. This means that this way of procuring electricity is likely to be an option for Microsoft. Microsoft is thinking of small nuclear power plants. To this end, Microsoft has been looking for skilled personnel in online job advertisements since September 2023: Microsoft wants to build nuclear reactors for its data centers – with a salary of up to 265,000 euros.
Curious: Microsoft even specifically trains its AI to write applications for approval procedures or regulations for nuclear reactors for AI data centers.
It’s about these nuclear reactors
Microsoft speaks of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and even smaller microreactors. These are reactors that are smaller than conventional reactors. Such small nuclear fission reactors would be prefabricated in a factory and then brought to the site and assembled there. They are said to be significantly safer than conventional reactors and in the event of a nuclear accident, one would apparently not have to evacuate large areas around these microreactors. So far, there are a handful of prototypes of such microreactors in operation around the world.