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AI’s nuclear option

2024/9/25
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Today, Explained

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Microsoft's AI operations require so much energy that they are buying power from a nuclear plant, including the infamous Three Mile Island, site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. This has sparked renewed interest in nuclear power due to the energy demands of AI.
  • Microsoft's AI operations require massive amounts of energy.
  • Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, will be coming back online.
  • This move has sparked renewed interest and debate surrounding nuclear power.

Shownotes Transcript

Microsoft needs so much energy for its AI data centers that it’s helping to reboot Three Mile Island, the site of the US’s worst nuclear accident. Evan Halper of the Washington Post explains.

This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Amanda Lewellyn, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast)

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A plaque at the site of the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island. Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images.

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