Interestingly, these are some of the concerns raised by Ted Kaczynski in his manifesto, that you can't take the good of technology without the bad, and that when machines come to make most decisions to keep industrial society going, turning them off would be tantamount to suicide (because no one would even be able to understand how they're doing it at that point).

But unless we're going for a Butlerian jihad (spoiler: no one will, since any nation automating labor will have massive economic advantages over the others, no matter how many datacenters and power plants they have to build, even after accounting for increased welfare spending), that's something we'll have to find a way to contend with somehow.

At least photovoltaics are becoming and will continue to be the cheapest way of generating electricity in most of the world, so the carbon footprint should fully decouple from economic growth and be less of a concern going forward.

Data centers operate day and night though.

By 2026, the electricity consumption of data centers is expected to approach 1,050 terawatt-hours. (which would bump data centers up to fifth place on the global list, between Japan and Russia).

Assuming AI is right (I used to do these kind of calculations myself, yeah it's easy to use AI, but losing some of my math skills and udnerstanding in the process...)

To produce 1,000 TW of power, a massive area of solar panels is needed, requiring an estimated 2 billion to 4 billion panels depending on their wattage, estimated at roughly 10,000 square kilometers or about 3,861 square miles. This estimate is based on an assumption that each square meter of panel can generate about 200 watts of power under ideal conditions, but in practice, the required area will be larger to account for real-world inefficiencies like weather and panel orientation.  

The administrative region of Basilicata is 9,992 square kilometers.

So relatively it's not that much (a few percent of the Saharah desert covered in solar panels is enough for the whole world)

However we're only just over 2 Terrawatts of solar power worldwide


AI is expected to use 500 times as much by next year.

And that's all under ideal conditions. (And how is going to keep 4 billion solar panels clean and serviced, new jobs!)

Plus distribution transmission loss, room for access roads, factories to produce replacements every 25 to 40 years.

It's also about 625 thousand large nuclear power plants to reach 1,000 Terrawatts (large plants generate about 1 Gw)


And here is an example AI gets it wrong sometimes:

It takes about 1,000 nuclear power plants to produce 1,000 terawatt-hours of electricity,

A typical nuclear power plant produces about 1 gigawatt (GW) of power.
Therefore, to generate 1,000 terawatt-hours (1,000,000 GWh) of electricity, you would need 1,000,000 GWh / 1 GWh/plant = 1,000,000 nuclear power plants.

Factor 10 wrong, but also on capacity

Some newer plants reaching 1,600 MW or more, hence 625 thousand.


And there it all falls apart as there aren't even that many power plants in the world...

Japan consumes over 1,000 TWh of electricity per year, with recent data from 2023 showing consumption of approximately 1,013 TWh.
Japan has 151 coal power plants, 33 operable nuclear reactors, 98 geothermal power plants, and 1,198 small hydropower plants.

So I'm using AI wrong somewhere.
The pitfalls of relying on AI for answers...


Ask AI the full question then

The exact number of nuclear power plants needed for AI in 2026 is not precisely calculable, but the energy demand is projected to grow significantly. One estimate suggests the power required for AI could be equivalent to that of up to 10 to 50 large nuclear power plants by 2026,

To provide context, an estimate suggests the entire world could be powered with about 51 billion solar panels, which would cover an area roughly half the size of France.

So looks like the solar panel equation is correct or at least consistent compared to world needs, yet the nuclear plants required for the same amount goes belly up. 

A plant with a 1 GW (1000 MW) capacity operating for 365 days a year at 100% output would generate (1000text{ MW}times 24text{ hours/day}times 365text{ days/year}=8,760,000text{ MWh}) per year. (8.76 terrawatt per year)

So that's 114 1 GW plants / 71 1.6 GW plants. Not 625 thousand. 

A common mistake between peak usage and yearly usage (hours) but see how easily AI gets tripped up. Why does it get it right with the solar panels, but wrong on the nuclear power plant question.



I've see this before where AI blatantly states incorrect math in its answers. Always need to verify!

It takes ~800 GW worth of solar panels to generate roughly ~1,000 TWh in a year. So it's not 500 times as much electricity, is ~0.4 times as much.

Anyway, believe it or not, thousands of km² of manufactured solar panels a year are a reality. That's economics of scale for you. It may seem excessive to power the entire world with solar, but it'd be less than the area we've paved over with concrete in the past few decades alone.

Since the number of people employed in photovoltaics seems to grow at the square root of installed capacity, it'd probably take about 20 million people to service the entire world's electricity from solar panels (vs. ~12.5 million people working in power generation today, which seems an acceptable increase in total workforce given how much cheaper solar power is), and without accounting for further automation.

(Addendum: Of course, that doesn't deal with the problem of energy storage; it's just an example of what'd be possible with one renewable alone.)

Yeah I figured it was probably wrong on the solar panels as well

I can't get a straight answer with AI lol

To produce 1,000 TWh annually, it would require approximately 114 to 154 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity. This estimate is based on an average solar capacity factor of around 24.5%, meaning that 1 GW of solar panels can generate approximately 2,146 GWh (or 2.146 TWh) of energy per year.

Divide it down 

A single solar panel can produce an estimated 730 to 895 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy annually

1,050 TWh annually = 1,050,000,000 kWh
Thus 1.2 to 1.5 million solar panels to produce 1,050 TWh annually. 


It's basically the capacity that's already here. 2024 produced 2 Twh of solar power
In 2024, solar power generated approximately 2,132 TWh of electricity globally

In 2024, utility-scale solar power generated 218.5 terawatt-hours (TWh) in the United States. Total solar generation that year, including estimated small-scale photovoltaic generation, was 303.2 TWh

That's the USA, so 2,132 Twh for the world seems correct. (US was responsible for about 16% of world solar power in 2022, right ballpark) 



I don't understand this graph though:

https://www.solarinsure.com/how-much-solar-energy-does-the-world-generate

global capacity surpassing 2,000 GW in 2024 and daily production reaching 2,075 GWh.

2,075 GWh daily = 757 TWh annually, not 2,132 TWh. (There are still only 365 days in a year right lol)


https://www.solarpowereurope.org/press-releases/new-report-world-installed-600-gw-of-solar-in-2024-could-be-installing-1-tw-per-year-by-2030


After the world crossed the milestone of 2 terawatts (TW) total solar in late 2024, the annual report predicts the world could be installing 1 TW of solar per year by the end of the decade.


Two terawatts ((2text{ TW})) of solar power could produce approximately 3,500 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually.

Fun with AI not lol.

https://www.freeingenergy.com/math/solar-pv-gwh-per-mw-power-energy-mwh-m147/
1 megawatt (MW) of solar panels will generate 2,146 megawatt hours (MWh) of solar energy per year.

So 2 TW (2,000,000 MW) of solar panels will generate 4,292,000,000 MWh of solar energy per year = 4.3 TWh


I don't like it when answers keep varying like this! But at least it's no order of magnitude difference.
Of course the 2,132 TWh of 2024 were not produced by the 2 TW total solar power at the end of 2024. But there's efficiency loss as well, maintenance, older panels etc.



So yeah it's possible. 50% increase needed if looking at what the world produced in solar power in 2024.
33% increase in capacity this year, wouldn't even take that long to add that capacity.


Let's do it!


But getting straight answers with AI isn't easy! AI can't be trusted :p (or rather blindly relied on)

Yeah ideally you distribute it around the world while increasing transmission efficiency.

HDVC lines, about 3.5% loss per 1,000 km, still half lost halfway around the world.

pumped-storage hydropower is the most efficient large-scale method for storing energy at 70–85% efficiency.

That requires a lot of space (and water) ofcourse.


More jobs :)

Before they continue working on Artificial Intelligence, they should address natural stupidity.

Why bother though, when you can add in articial stupidity to the mix?

Already been done.

ChatGPT Users Are Turning PSYCHOTIC & MANIC



Correlation rather than causation, psychopathic people are drawn to psychopathic AI...

https://www.wired.com/story/chatgpt-psychosis-and-self-harm-update/

In recent months, a growing number of people have ended up hospitalized, divorced, or dead after having long, intense conversations with ChatGPT. Some of their loved ones allege the chatbot fueled their delusions and paranoia. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals have expressed alarm about the phenomenon, which is sometimes referred to as AI psychosis, but until now there’s been no robust data available on how widespread it might be.

In a given week, OpenAI estimated that around 0.07 percent of active ChatGPT users show “possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania” and 0.15 percent “have conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”

OpenAI also looked at the share of ChatGPT users who appear to be overly emotionally reliant on the chatbot “at the expense of real-world relationships, their well-being, or obligations.” It found that about 0.15 percent of active users exhibit behavior that indicates potential “heightened levels” of emotional attachment to ChatGPT weekly. The company cautions that these messages can be difficult to detect and measure given how relatively rare they are, and there could be some overlap between the three categories.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said earlier this month that ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly active users. The company’s estimates therefore suggest that every seven days, around 560,000 people may be exchanging messages with ChatGPT that indicate they are experiencing mania or psychosis. About 1.2 million more are possibly expressing suicidal ideations, and another 1.2 million may be prioritizing talking to ChatGPT over their loved ones, school, or work.

I Went to Palestine's Most Surveilled City to Expose Israel's Wolfpack AI: What I Found Broke Me

Join MintPress director Mnar Adley as she embarks on walking through the city of Hebron, where her family originates from. Known to Palestinians as the city of al-Khalil, Hebron is the largest and most populated Palestinian city in the West Bank. Dubbed by Israel as 'Hebron Smart City' -- this is where Israel tests its Draconian surveillance technology on the Palestinian population as part of what is called the Wolfpack surveillance system.

Mnar Adley takes us along her journey as she crosses through the most heavily armed and surveilled checkpoints in the world where Israel has set up an automated apartheid system to track Palestinian movement. Adley is joined by Palestinian activist Izzat Karake from Youth Against Settlements who chronicles the struggle against settler colonialism where armed Jewish settlers supported by Israeli soldiers are trying to take over the city to Judaize the quarter.


I wonder how far along the UK is with AI tracking people's movements.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-remote-face-scanning-tech-to-monitor-offenders-and-cut-crime

https://dig.watch/updates/uk-plans-ai-systems-to-monitor-offenders-and-prevent-crimes-before-they-occur

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/technology/britain-facial-recognition-digital-controls.html


Palestine is the laboratory for Western repression of anyone deemed unfavorable to the 'state', AI makes Orwell's 1984 a reality.