AI Data Centers In Space: Due to AI boom, demand for data centers has increased and companies have started looking for space for them. Companies like SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Google are considering building data centers in space. Last month, SpaceX had announced that under the Starmind project, it wants to send 1 million AI satellites into space. Space seems to be a safe place for companies to get unlimited solar power and avoid the hassle of setting up data centers on Earth, but not everyone agrees. A group of scientists has demanded from America’s Federal Commission of Communication (FCC) that there is a need to look at the potential dangers of satellite before its large deployment.

Why is data center important for AI?

Like the Internet, AI services require a computer server to function. Considering the level at which AI is being used, large servers are necessary. These servers are kept in the data center. Data centers can be spread over several acres depending on the capacity. Data centers have been present for many years, but after the advent of AI, their number has increased rapidly. Electricity is required to run these data centers. When these servers run, heat is generated. To control this heat and prevent the temperature of the server from increasing, the data center requires cooling, for which a large amount of water is used. A data center can use water and electricity equivalent to the needs of a large city. Due to this, opposition to the data center has started in many places.

Now companies have their eyes on space

To avoid the need of electricity and water and to avoid disputes etc., companies have now set their eyes on space. This will provide two benefits to the companies simultaneously. There is unlimited solar energy in space, which will reduce companies’ dependence on electricity. Secondly, there is no hassle in space like land use. Floating data centers will be built in space and no land will be required for these. Google has described this concept as the subject of a long research. The company is considering launching computing hardware in orbit in collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Similarly, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos believes that data centers will be built in space in the next 10-20 years.

Scientists want to draw attention to these dangers

Many groups working for the environment say that we should not just think about the benefits of data centers in space. Earthjustice, representing these groups, has demanded a detailed review of the satellite-related project from the FCC. Scientists fear that due to indiscriminate increase in the number of satellites, there are dangers of increasing atmospheric pollution, damage to the ozone layer, increase in garbage in space and even changing the appearance of the night sky. This will affect the daily life of people as well as the future of the earth. Scientists have also expressed concern that this could have a negative impact on wildlife as well as human health. Earlier, many experts had also warned that due to the continuously increasing number of satellites in space, observation from telescopes around the world will become difficult. This means that even the strongest telescopes installed on Earth will not be able to see the activities happening in space.

The number of satellites is increasing rapidly in space.

European Southern Observatory (ESO) says that the number of satellites has increased rapidly in the last few years. At present, 10,400 satellites of Starlink alone are revolving around the Earth. Before 2022, the total number of satellites present in space was 14,450. Now companies are planning to launch even more satellites.

Read this also-

All tech leaders are supporting Open-Source AI, what is it?