Elon Musk Is Building the Worlds Largest Supercomputer in MemphisAnd Some Locals Are Very Concerned [Video]

If artificial intelligence is going to become the world’s new default tool for automation and information, the computers that run it are going to need power—and a lot of it. According to the International Energy Agency, “Search tools like Google could see a tenfold increase of their electricity demand” if they fully implement AI. Data already shows that a ChatGPT query uses nine times the energy of a typical browser search; if usage trends continue for cloud-based services, AI, and cryptocurrencies, 6% of the United States’s energy consumption will be caused by the data centers that power them.

At a 750,000-square-foot vacant manufacturing plant in southwest Memphis, Elon Musk’s xAI startup is currently building what could be the world’s largest supercomputer. Local utility company Memphis Light Gas and Water (MLGW) claims the project will create more than 300 “new, high-paying jobs” and result in approximately $500,000 of annual PILOT payments to the …