Whitepaper: The AI Disruption: Challenges and Guidance for Data Center Design 

In recent years, we have witnessed an extraordinary acceleration in the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), transforming the way we live, work, and interact with technology. Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) is a catalyst for this growth. Predictive algorithms are having an impact on industry sectors ranging from healthcare and finance to manufacturing , transportation and entertainment. The data requirements associated with AI are driving new chip and server technologies resulting in extreme rack power densities. At the same time, there is massive demand for AI. Together these present new challenges in designing and operating data centers to support this demand.

AI growth projection

We estimate that AI represents 4.3 GW of power demand today and project this to grow at a CAGR of 26% to 36%, resulting in a total demand of 13.5 GW to 20 GW by 2028. This growth is two to three times that of overall data center power demand CAGR of 11%.  One key insight is that inference4 loads will increase over time as more newly trained models are transitioned to production. The actual energy demand will heavily depend on technology factors including successive generations of servers, more efficient instruction sets, improved chip performance, and continued AI research.