Illustration: The Verge
Google’s data centers are expanding to support its AI ambitions, and a new project in Finland shows one way the company is trying to grapple with the environmental impact of that growth.
Google will drop €1 billion (roughly $1.1 billion) to expand its data center in Finland to “further unlock the potential of AI,” the company said in an emailed press release today. It includes plans to reuse heat from the data center to warm nearby homes, schools, and public buildings.
Already energy-hungry data centers are now even more energy intensive when used for AI. Reusing the server heat is one way to mitigate the effects that AI has on…