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Eric S's avatar

Hi there, Rich, we met years ago at an entrepreneurship function at New College. I'm glad to see your mind on the cost-side of AI while many selectively tout the benefits. I agree that nuclear will be necessary to support growth in AI while staying on track with emissions goals. I also agree that a program like "Megatons to Megawatts" is perfect in theory, but to reinstate it would be difficult if not impossible with today's international relations. A more achievable goal may be to invest in and better utilize domestic nuclear infrastructure to supply the power for AI, but there's challenges to that too.

In terms of demand, I'd like to point out that, due to gains in processor and cooling efficiency, exponential growth in computing capacity may only drive linear growth in demand for power. Mega-tech companies market the notion that efficiency gains and investments in renewable utilities can keep their emissions stable or even in a downtrend through this process. To pull this off, they need to be able to invest incrementally in power as the demand increases materialize. Since these quantities are hard to predict, something modular like solar is less financially risky than committing to a PPA with a nuclear plant.

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