5. Power Plays

Artificial Intelligence is incredibly thirsty for energy, which is fueling a renewables revolution in China - could this be the key to gaining an advantage over the United States?

In this final episode, Misha Glenny finds out how the energy race to keep all the technology running is evolving.

As the appetite for AI increases so will its energy requirements expand. Misha reveals how one data centre is capable of consuming the same amount of electricity as city with a population in the millions.

He also hears how the US and China have increasingly divergent approaches to energy. China is placing an emphasis on renewables whereas Donald Trump's 'drill baby, drill' mantra is seeing a greater reliance on oil and gas.

GUESTS:

Stephen Witt, journalist and author of The Thinking Machine

Kyle Chan, fellow at The Brookings Institution, where he researches China's technology development and industrial policy

Karen Hao, journalist and author of Empire of AI

Marietje Schaake, former Dutch MEP and current fellow at Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center and at the Institute for Human-Centered AI

Presenter: Misha Glenny
Producer: Ben Carter
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
Studio mix: James Beard
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown