FINAL WORD
New generations of data centres are already in process and many more are planned .
With the reveal of DeepSeek-R1 in January 2025 , Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella invoked Jevon ’ s paradox , the notion that greater technological efficiency ultimately increases , rather than decreases , resource utilisation . His message was clearly aimed at calming a shocked market and assuring investors that the billions invested in AI infrastructure and the billions more to come would not be a problem .
Any investment is justified , as the infrastructure will be required for an evergrowing demand for AI services , a demand that will be driven by increased efficiency . Whether this comes to pass remains to be seen , and there are certainly many who question the premise in this particular situation . Regardless , there are serious implications for sustainability and for those channel partners who provide hosted infrastructure services .
AI is , of course , incredibly power hungry . It is dependent on high-performance , energy guzzling , massively heat generating mega-clusters of chips . Power , cooling and space are required , which necessitates huge amounts of data centre space .
New generations of data centres are already in process and many more are planned . The impact on energy resources is obvious , which is why the development of small , corporate nuclear reactors are seriously being considered to provide the necessary capacity . Until , and if , these come online , energy will need to be pulled from existing resources , meaning potentially increased fossil fuel use .
Such movements clearly put pressure on sustainability targets and one question that can plausibly be asked is whether environmental sustainability even remains a priority at this point .
The fragile global consensus is always disintegrating in the face of sluggish economies and the need to prioritise growth above all else . The push for AI is perhaps the most obvious example of this and is allied to the loss of impetus both here in the UK and the explicit abandonment in the US . The geopolitical and macroeconomic shifts mirror a reality that has existed at the level of service provision for some time .
Environmentally sustainable infrastructure is only viable alongside sustainable economic growth . Whereas environmental impact is of stated importance to many , it is rarely the primary decision-making factor for organisations , for which performance , resiliency and budget always take precedence .
Within such a landscape , does sustainable infrastructure still have a place ? Does sustainability itself have any current traction or must it be a matter of policy that environmental issues simply take a back seat and await a day where AI will solve the problem for us – escaping both Jevon ’ s paradox and environmental collapse ?
Channel partners must operate within this existential clamour , whilst also trying to ascertain just how the coming wave of AI and AI-injected services will impact their customer base and offerings . A pragmatic strategic view , however , suggests that sustainable infrastructure remains the best approach for several reasons .
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS 69