Energy and cooling demands shape the future of AI

by Rohan VaidyaOctober 2, 20266 links · ~22 min read · ~1 min for the TL;DR

Patch Notes by Rohan Vaidya: six links on Tech & AI every day.

TL;DR

New AI computing generations are driving the adoption of near-total liquid cooling to manage mounting heat challenges.
Fervo Energy completed its first enhanced geothermal power plant in 23 months, with future phases aiming for even faster grid integration.
Trillium Labs is advocating for transparency by conducting research on self-improvement and model behavior out in the open.
Bonus is a startup that pays residents in New York City to operate air conditioners using free batteries.
Cloudflare has released open-weight Clef models on Hugging Face that support image and video processing for those with sufficient local hardware.
Oracle faces a risk to its 2027 customer delivery schedule for a Wisconsin AI datacenter due to pending power grid approval.

From the curator

The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is forcing a confrontation with physical constraints, from power grid limitations to extreme heat management. The IEEE Spectrum article notes that mounting heat challenges are making near-total liquid cooling the new standard for AI racks. Meanwhile, the The Register article reports that Oracle’s planned Wisconsin AI datacenter faces potential delays in 2027 customer delivery because it is still awaiting regulatory approval for its grid connection.

Rohan Vaidya

Curated for this issue

IEEE Spectrum3 min readWhy Near Total Liquid Cooling Is the New Standard for AI Racks
The next generation of computing presents mounting heat challenges with every new launch

TechCrunch2 min readWorld’s first enhanced geothermal power plant completed in just 23 months
Fervo Energy completed its first power plant in less than two years. The next phases promise to connect to the grid even quicker.

Tim De Chant · curated 1 time

Wired4 min readThese AI Experts Want to Do High-Stakes Research Out in the Open
Many frontier labs keep their risky research locked away. Trillium Labs wants to show off its work when it comes to self-improvement and model behavior.

Will Knight · curated 1 time

Ars Technica6 min readThis startup pays NYC residents to run air conditioners on free batteries
Bonus: Every Electric’s batteries are beloved by household cats.

theregister3 min readCloudflare tries to outplay Jev with open-weight Clef models
Sure, it costs more, but it can handle images and video and it's available on Hugging Face if you have the hardware horsepower to run it locally

theregister3 min readPower approval set to delay Oracle's Wisconsin AI datacenter
Grid connection awaits regulatory approval, putting planned 2027 customer delivery at risk

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From the curator

IEEE Spectrum3 min readWhy Near Total Liquid Cooling Is the New Standard for AI RacksThe next generation of computing presents mounting heat challenges with every new launch

TechCrunch2 min readWorld’s first enhanced geothermal power plant completed in just 23 monthsFervo Energy completed its first power plant in less than two years. The next phases promise to connect to the grid even quicker.

Wired4 min readThese AI Experts Want to Do High-Stakes Research Out in the OpenMany frontier labs keep their risky research locked away. Trillium Labs wants to show off its work when it comes to self-improvement and model behavior.

Ars Technica6 min readThis startup pays NYC residents to run air conditioners on free batteriesBonus: Every Electric’s batteries are beloved by household cats.

theregister3 min readCloudflare tries to outplay Jev with open-weight Clef modelsSure, it costs more, but it can handle images and video and it's available on Hugging Face if you have the hardware horsepower to run it locally

theregister3 min readPower approval set to delay Oracle's Wisconsin AI datacenterGrid connection awaits regulatory approval, putting planned 2027 customer delivery at risk