⚡ The US is spending $650B on AI this year. China spent about $100B. But China added 8x more power capacity in 2025, and its models cost a quarter as much to run.
The AI race everyone's watching is about which model is best. The race that actually matters is about who can keep the lights on.
China treats electricity as infrastructure. State credit, central planning, 540 GW of new capacity in a single year. The US treats it as a market commodity, and now sits on a gas turbine backlog stretching 5-7 years out.
The US still has the best models. But the best model in the world is useless if you can't power it.
Su_G
in reply to jcrabapple • • •Thanks for posting about this issue: “the best [AI] model in the world is useless if you can't power it.” It gets so little attention! Everyone acting as if there is tonnes & tonnes of surplus energy in the world instead of admiring the elegance of doing so much with so little (ha ha, my little joke). 😹🙏🏻
Might add: “the best model in the world is useless if” it has no social licence, another prerequisite that’s not in surplus. 🤔
#AI #poweringAI #energyEfficiency #surplusEnergy #SocialLicense #elegance #DoingSoMuchWithSoLittle