Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Helena Fu, director of DOE's Office of Critical and Emerging Technologies, sees a "golden moment" for AI in the energy transition.
Why it matters: Her office is a huge piece of the federal government's efforts to advance the technology via the Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security and Technology (FASST) initiative.
Driving the news: The rise of power-hungry data centers could aid the energy transition, given tech companies' commitments to low-carbon power, Fu said Tuesday morning at Axios' Sustainable AI event.
- "We think that this is really a critical, golden moment and opportunity to pair the demand from data centers for training AI with many of these companies' commitments to clean firm power to really supercharge the deployment of clean energy," she said.
- She added that the Senate bill to codify FAAST "reflects essentially what we think is going to be needed" to move forward on AI.
What we're watching Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has asked her advisory board to examine AI's power demand, Fu said.
- "They're going to be doing a public briefing for her next week," she said. "Across the department we are very much focused on this issue."
