Elon Musk Warns of Impending Electricity and Transformer Shortages Due to Rapid AI and EV Growth
Subheading: The tech mogul urges industries to prioritize clean energy generation and transformer production to keep up with demand.
In a remote closing Q&A session at the Bosch Connected World conference, Elon Musk, the recent Nobel Peace Prize nominee, shared his insights on the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles (EVs). Musk warned that the world might face significant electricity and transformer shortages as early as next year due to the exponential growth of these technologies.
Musk began by expressing his awe at the pace of AI development, stating, “I’ve never seen any technology advance faster than this.” He noted that the chip shortage has been overcome, but AI and EV expansion are now posing new challenges. Musk emphasized that the world needs to prepare for potential supply crunches in electricity and transformers to support these rapidly growing industries.
During the conference, Musk discussed self-driving cars, humanoid robots, and hinted at upcoming electric vehicle innovations from Tesla. However, his primary message to the industry was clear: prioritize clean energy generation and manufacture as many electrical transformers as possible.
Musk elaborated on the issue, explaining that AI compute capabilities are increasing by a factor of 10 every six months. This staggering growth rate is driving an unprecedented demand for chips and transformers. As Musk put it, “The chip rush is bigger than any gold rush that’s ever existed.”
He went on to predict that the next significant shortage would be voltage step-down transformers, necessary for powering AI systems. Musk jokingly pointed out that “you need transformers to run transformers,” referring to both the physical devices and the AI technology known as transformers.
Musk’s most alarming prediction, however, is the potential electricity shortage. He believes that by next year, the demand for power to run all the chips in AI systems and electric vehicles will outstrip the available supply.
The simultaneous growth of electric cars and AI, both of which rely heavily on electricity and transformers, is creating an unprecedented demand for electrical equipment and power generation. Musk’s warning serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for clean energy solutions from various sources to support these burgeoning industries.
As we navigate these “interesting times,” Musk’s predictions underscore the importance of investing in clean energy and transformer production to ensure a sustainable future for AI and EV technologies.
Source: New Atlas
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