Posted by There has been some noise on the Internet about how local LLM’s (large language models) are going to make the need for AI data centers unnecessary. This feeds into the fact that a lot of people are concerned when they find out that a data center built is planned near their home or city. The fact is that there are currently over 4000 data centers in operation in the US with plans for 1400 more. Of this total, over 100 are the pure-play type used to train AI agents. About 2500 are used to process AI requests and the remainder are used for data storage. The data centers used to train AI are the ones that are the most expensive and use 10x more power than the others.
A huge amount of money is being allocated to build more of the pure AI data centers in hopes that someday the investment will pay for itself. Having a local AI loaded on your computer sounds like a good idea until you consider the cons. It may work well for tasks that do not require fresh data. Things like text or music editing that operate with defined parameters. But anything that requires the latest information will only have a snapshot of the data that was available when the local AI was installed. This may work for some people, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for large up-to-date powerful AI data centers.
A hidden impact of AI is already starting to surface. Web traffic is expected to decrease by as much as 60% because AI enabled web browsers are providing the information you need without you having to go to the source. It is extremely efficient and the transition is happening quickly. Anyone that owns a website that isn’t a major news, or information source will likely see a rapid decline in page views. The websites that hold valued information for AI are making deals to sell access to their data or putting in behind a login or paywall. I have already noticed that most of the visitors to my websites are AI search bots. I predict that within a year, many small personal websites are going to disappear. It just doesn’t make sense to keep renewing domains and paying hosting fees only to feed AI search bots.
From an investment standpoint, I think the AI data center build out will continue. But it may get scaled back a bit if governments decide to implement regulations. Right now, it feels like a race to see who can deploy the most essential and profitable AI solutions the fastest. There only seems to be a few who are questioning the impact that AI will have on us. Because of the potential impact on all aspects of life, I wouldn’t be surprised if the US government starts to take a more active role in AI data center policy. When a new technology becomes indispensable, the government usually steps in to set the rules. That would pour cold water on all the hype.