How to make AI companies pay your energy bill | Ari Matusiak

Elise Hu (0:04)

You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

Have you noticed your power bill creeping up lately? You're not imagining it, and there's something else going on in communities all across the US and the globe. The growing power demand of AI data centers and the strain they're putting on the grid wherever you live.

Ari Matusiak (0:28)

Energy costs are up 40 percent over the last five years. One in three households in America say that they are struggling to pay that power bill every month.

Elise Hu (0:39)

That's climate entrepreneur Ari Matusiak. In this talk, he says the current setup leaves everyday people footing the bill for a massive build out that mostly benefits tech companies. Those companies, he explains, are in a race to power AI, and they need electricity so badly and so fast, that some of them are going to remarkable lengths to get it.

Ari Matusiak (1:01)

Some of these companies are literally buying old 747 jet engines and converting them into turbines to generate electricity 24-7. Jet engines gets me every time.

Elise Hu (1:14)

Ari thinks there's a way to fix this, and that it's been hiding in plain sight, a way to make the AI boom actually lower your energy bills instead of raising them. He calls it homegrown energy, and he makes the case that this one idea could give tech companies the power they're desperate for and save you money all at the same time. It's coming up right after a short break.

And now our TED Talk of the day.

Ari Matusiak (1:48)

When you open your power bills these days, do you notice they're a lot higher than they used to be? Behind that climbing bill of yours is a straining energy grid where you live. And very likely, one major source of that strain are AI data centers helping tech companies profit while you pay more. If you think about that for a second, it's kind of a crazy deal. And if it makes you angry, or if the whole deal around AI makes you uncertain or worried, you certainly are not alone. I'm Ari Matusiak, and I'm part of a talented team that spends its time working to rewire America's energy system. And we believe we have a fix, one that cuts a new and better deal for you, your family, and your community. A deal that's built on our shared power. Nine out of ten workers in America say that their incomes have barely budged, and they can't keep up with the cost of living. Energy costs are up 40% over the last five years. One in three households in America say that they are struggling to pay that power bill every month.

In parts of West Virginia, that power bill rivals the mortgage. Think about that. What it costs some American families to heat and cool their homes is the same as what it costs them to own their home. The American energy system has traditionally had two sides. On the one side, supply. Giant steel-in-the-ground power plants built by people in hard hats, celebrated by people in suits at ribbon-cutting ceremonies that you're probably not invited to. On the other side, demand. All of us paying for the energy that we need and contributing our share to the infrastructure costs over there to produce it. For 30 years, that was basically the deal. The price of energy went up some. The amount of energy we all used stayed basically the same, and really none of us ever thought about it. We just sat at our kitchen tables and paid that bill. But then, five years ago, it broke. Energy demand surged. And one main reason? AI.

Right now, there are over 3,400 AI data centers underway or planned in the United States, needing 270 gigawatts of power. What's a gigawatt? Well, it's a unit of energy, but like a lot of energy. And to put it in perspective, those 270 gigawatts are enough to power two out of three homes in America. All day, every day, as much Netflix as you want. And the projected demand for AI power just keeps going up. It's almost tripled in the last year alone. And so now we have this situation where we have power for all of us and power for all of that on a system that wasn't designed to support it. It's a mess.

And if we keep going the same way, this mess will mean that you fund one of the largest buildouts of infrastructure in American history, comparable to the interstate highway system, on your bill every month. Except it will be going to all of that, not to you. Meanwhile, your furnace is getting older, your water heater is about to give out, you are one hard winter or hot summer away from a repair bill you didn't budget for.