Google AI: I've got the power

Google is using its DeepMind machine-learning software to slash its data centers' energy bills.

The ad giant uses the AI to monitor and optimize the power consumption of its server warehouses. The result: a 15 per cent power saving, according to ex-Reg man Jack Clark over at Bloomberg.

The software studies the huge levels of electricity needed to run the server farms, detects patterns of usage over the course of time, and uses that knowledge to control the power to the machines and cooling equipment, ramping consumption up and down depending on the foreseen demand. Over a large scale, it's helped cut one of Google's bigger expenses. ®