DeepSeek says it built its chatbot cheap. What does that mean for AI's energy needs and the climate?
DeepSeek says it built its chatbot cheap. What does that mean for AI's energy needs and the climate?
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Chinese artificial intelligence startup company DeepSeek stunned markets and AI experts with its claim that it built its immensely popular chatbot at a fraction of the cost of those made by American tech titans. That immediately called into question the billions of dollars U.S. tech companies are spending on a massive expansion of energy-hungry data centers they say are needed to unlock the next wave of artificial intelligence.
Could this new AI mean the world needs significantly less electricity for the technology than everyone thinks? The answer has profound implications for the overheating climate . AI uses vast amounts of energy, much of which comes from burning fossil fuels, which causes climate change. Tech companies have said their electricity use is going up, when it was supposed to be ramping down, ruining their carefully-laid plans to address climate change.
“There has been a very gung ho, go ahead at all costs mentality in this space, pushing toward investment in fossil fuels,” said Eric Gimon, senior fellow at Energy Innovation. “This is an opportunity to tap the brakes.”. Making AI more efficient could be less taxing on the environment, experts say, even if its huge electricity needs are not going away.
People flock to new DeepSeek assistant. DeepSeek’s claims of building its impressive chatbot on a budget drew curiosity that helped make its AI assistant the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple’s iPhone this week, ahead of U.S.-made chatbots ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
