Korean Media: "The US May Lose the AI Competition to China!"
On January 23, the Korean media outlet "Gyeonghyang News" published an article stating that analysis shows the United States is competing with China for AI leadership, but may be at a disadvantage due to the energy required for AI. China is vigorously developing renewable energy to reduce costs, while the Trump administration's increasing use of fossil fuels will ultimately lead to cost pressures.
Ian Hanett, co-founder and chief investment strategist at the U.S. market research company Absolute Strategy Research, recently wrote a column article stating, "The U.S. may achieve initial success in the AI field, but due to its reliance on fossil fuel energy, it may ultimately lose this war."
Hanett believes that the Trump administration has regarded the "competitive advantage in the AI field" as a key priority to reverse the decline in U.S. productivity. He pointed out that AI can help reverse the trend of declining U.S. productivity, with the growth rate of productivity slowing to 1.5% over the past 20 years. Analysis from Absolute Strategy Research shows that AI has increased labor productivity (a key indicator of U.S. productivity) by 0.1 to 0.9 percentage points.
The problem is that the U.S. is not yet prepared to deal with the high electricity costs of the AI industry. This contrasts sharply with China, which is lowering the power costs of AI through renewable energy. Hanett said, "One of the risks of relying on fossil fuels is cost. The cost of renewable energy is decreasing faster than that of fossil fuels, which could put the U.S. AI at a disadvantage compared to China's AI in the long run."
According to the International Energy Agency's "Energy and AI" report, global AI data center electricity demand in 2024 was 407 terawatt-hours. Of this, the U.S. accounted for 45%, or about 207 terawatt-hours. However, the Trump administration has turned to fossil fuels to meet this demand. The report predicts that by 2030, fossil fuels will account for more than half of the electricity demand for U.S. data centers, and by 2035, this proportion will exceed 40%.
At the same time, China is gradually shifting the energy consumption of the AI sector from fossil fuels to more economical energy sources. Specific measures include increasing the share of solar and offshore wind energy, and locating data centers near these energy production areas to ensure power supply. The report predicts that currently, 70% of the energy used by China's AI industry depends on fossil fuels, and by 2035, renewable energy and nuclear energy will account for about 60% of its energy consumption.
Food security crises are also hindering AI development. Fossil fuel power generation, such as steam turbine power generation, requires large amounts of water, which could threaten food security in the long term. Hanett pointed out, "Two-thirds of newly built or planned U.S. data centers after 2022 are located in areas with severe water shortages, which could exacerbate water shortages and food insecurity, leading to significant economic losses."
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855107915054090/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author."