It kind of sounds like something out of a fantasy movie, doesn’t it? A massive information company acquiring and developing its own artificial intelligence and then slowly giving it more and more control until it is completely self-sufficient. (We’re not the only ones picturing Sarah Connor here, are we?) Well, it isn’t fantasy; Google has done it.
After acquiring DeepMind, an artificial intelligence company based out of London, several years ago, Google has been working on an algorithm that learns how best to adjust cooling systems (such as fans, ventilation, and other equipment) in order to reduce and limit power consumption. In the past, this algorithm would give recommendations to data center managers who would then decide whether or not to implement the suggestions — this led to the Internet titan saving approximately 40% in energy expenditures.
Now, the AI algorithm has the run of the joint, managing several cooling centers all by itself.
“It’s the first time that an autonomous industrial control system will be deployed at this scale, to the best of our knowledge,” stated Mustafa Suleyman, head of applied AI at DeepMind.
Companies have been using cooling systems ever since the world made the switch to digital; when you’re storing massive amounts of data in one place, technology tends to heat up. Over-heating risks the loss of all that vital data, so systems (usually air-cooled) were developed to prevent that from happening. Recently, ICEraQ systems have been put in place that cost as much as 60% less than the traditional cooling models.
However, people were always a part of that equation, people always needed to be involved. When you consider the sheer scope of Google’s data banks, the work seems enormous even for those few managers. The potential of this AI to not only reduce Google’s energy costs (literally by millions of dollars) but also their carbon emissions.
Google is making leaps and bounds toward a bright, new, technologically-focused future; we can only hope that future doesn’t take a sharp left into Terminator territory!
