Big tech’s great AI power grab
Big tech wants more computing power. A lot more. According to their latest quarterly reports, Alphabet (which owns Google), Amazon and Microsoft—the world’s cloud-computing giants—collectively invested $40bn between January and March, most of it in data centres to deal with growing artificial-intelligence (AI) workloads. Last month Meta, which does not have a cloud business but does run a data-hungry social-media empire, said its capital expenditure could reach $40bn this year as a result of AI-related projects. That is not far off the $50bn that Saudi Aramco, an oil colossus, is planning to splurge. Microsoft is likely to spend more.
科技巨头们想要更多的计算能力。 非常多。 根据他们的最新季度报告,Alphabet(谷歌的母公司)、亚马逊、和微软——全球云计算巨头在1月至3月期间总共投资了400亿美元, 其中大部分都集中在数据中心,以应对不断增长的人工智能(AI)工作负载。 Meta虽然没有云业务,但运营着一个对数据极度渴望的社交媒体帝国, 该公司在上月表示,由于人工智能相关项目,今年其资本支出可能达到400亿美元。 这与石油巨头沙特阿美公司计划投资的500亿美元相差不远。 微软可能会花费更多。
grab 霸占,留下印象(v.)
giant 巨人,大公司,伟人(n.)巨大的(adj.)
collectively 集体的(adv.)
invest 投资,耗费,授予(v.)
centre 中心(n.)分在中心(v.)
artificial 人工的,伪造的,非自然存在的(adj.)
empire 帝国,大企业,广泛活动(n.)
capital 首都,资本(n.)重要的,可判死刑的(adj.)
expenditure 花费,支出,费用(n.)
as a recult of 由于
colossus 巨大,巨人(n.)
splurge 挥霍(v.)
likely 可能地(adv.)
The comparison with the famously capex-happy energy industry is apt not just because of the sums involved. AI needs vast amounts of processing power. And that processing power needs vast amounts of electricity. On May 2nd Bob Blue, chief executive of Dominion Energy, one of America’s biggest utilities, said that data-centre developers now frequently ask him for “several gigawatts” (GW). Dominion’s total installed capacity is 34 gigawatts.
将它们与以资本为荣而闻名的能源行业进行比较,不仅是因为所涉及的金额。 人工智能需要大量的处理能力。 而处理能力需要大量的电力能源。 5月2日,美国最大的公用事业公司之一Dominion Energy的首席执行官鲍勃·布鲁 表示,数据中心开发人员现在经常向他索要“好几千兆瓦”(GW)的电力支持。 Dominion的总装机容量为34千兆瓦。
capex 费用支出
compare 比较(v.) comparison 比较(n.) comparable 相似的,相当的(adj.)
apt 恰当的(adj.)
sum 金额,总数(n.)
involve 包含,涉及,使经历,使参与(v.)
vast 广大的,巨大的,大量的(adj.)
precess 使产生进动(v.)
executive 行政的,经营的(adj.)经理,行政部门(n.)
utility 功能,公用事业(n.)
frequently 经常的(adv.)
total 所有的,完全的,全部的(adj.)总计(n.)
install 安装,任命,安顿(v.)
JPMorgan Chase, a bank, calculates that Alphabet, Amazon’s cloud arm (AWS), Meta and Microsoft consumed 90 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2022, as much as Colombia. And that was mostly before ChatGPT touched off the AI revolution in November that year. The ensuing hoopla led the International Energy Agency (IEA), an official forecaster, to predict that data centres (including those dedicated to AI and equally energy-hungry cryptocurrencies) will eat up more than 800 terawatt-hours globally in 2026, double the amount in 2022. BCG, a consultancy, reckons data processing could triple its share of American power consumption by 2030, to 7.5%.
摩根大通银行计算出,Alphabet、亚马逊云部门(AWS), 与Meta、微软在2022年共消耗了90太瓦时(TWh)的电力,与哥伦比亚一个国家所消耗的相当。(译者注:1太瓦等于1000千兆瓦,1千兆瓦等于1000兆瓦) 这主要是在ChatGPT于当年11月引发人工智能革命之前。 随之而来的喧嚣导致官方预报机构国际能源署(IEA), 预测2026年全球数据中心(包括致力于人工智能和同样耗电的加密货币的数据中心)将消耗超过800太瓦, 将比2022年增加一倍。 咨询公司BCG估计,到2030年,数据处理在美国电力消耗中的份额可能会增加两倍,达到7.5%。
calculate 计算,预期,以为(v.)
arm 部门,武器,胳膊(n.)
consume 消耗,购买(v.)
mostly 主要的(adv.)
touch off 触动,引发
revolution 革命,循环(n.)
ensure 保证,担保(v.)
ensuing 随后的(adj.)
hoopla 喧嚣,喧闹(n.)
international 国际的(adj.)
lead 领导,通向(v.)
official 官方的,正式的(adj.)
forecaster 预测者(n.)
predict 断言,预测,预计(v.)
dedicate to 致力于
equally 同样的,平等的(adv.)
currency 通币,货币,通用,流行(n.)
eat up 消耗
consultancy 咨询公司(n.)
reckon 估计(v.)
precessing 处理
triple 三部分的(adj.)三人一组(n.)
share 分发,与…共享(v.)份额,股份(n.)
consumption 消耗(n.)