July 19, 2025 - The artificial intelligence industry is scrambling to reduce its massive energy consumption through better cooling systems, more efficient computer chips, and smarter programming – all while AI usage explodes worldwide. 

AI depends entirely on data centers, which could consume three percent of the world's electricity by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. That's double what they use today. 

Experts at McKinsey, a US consulting firm, describe a race to build enough data centers to keep up with AI's rapid growth, while warning that the world is heading toward an electricity shortage. 

"There are several ways of solving the problem," explained Mosharaf Chowdhury, a University of Michigan professor of computer science.  

Companies can either build more energy supply – which takes time and the AI giants are already scouring the globe to do – or figure out how to consume less energy for the same computing power. 

Chowdhury believes the challenge can be met with "clever" solutions at every level, from the physical hardware to the AI software itself. 

For example, his lab has developed algorithms that calculate exactly how much electricity each AI chip needs, reducing energy use by 20-30 percent.

'Clever' solutions

Twenty years ago, operating a data center – encompassing cooling systems and other infrastructure – required as much energy as running the servers themselves.

Today, operations use just 10 percent of what the servers consume, says Gareth Williams from consulting firm Arup. 

This is largely through this focus on energy efficiency. 

Many data centers now use AI-powered sensors to control temperature in specific zones rather than cooling entire buildings uniformly. 

This allows them to optimize water and electricity use in real-time, according to McKinsey's Pankaj Sachdeva. 

For many, the game-changer will be liquid cooling, which replaces the roar of energy-hungry air conditioners with a coolant that circulates directly through the servers.