Could Data Centers Break Our Power Grid? with Andrew Chien

Big Brains by University of Chicago Podcast Network

Mar 6, 202600:37:02Society & Culture

Artificial intelligence may live in “the cloud,” but its footprint is firmly on the ground. As AI systems grow more powerful, the data centers that train and run them are consuming massive amounts of land, water and elec...

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from Big Brains.

Why The Key to Treating Cancer May Be In Your Gut, with Thomas Gajewski

Aug 20, 2026 - 00:36:56

For decades, traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation have targeted tumors directly—...

The Little-Known Secrets To A Good Life, with Shigehiro Oishi

Aug 6, 2026 - 00:34:27

What makes a good life? For decades, psychologists have debated whether true fulfillment comes from happi...

How to Use Nature to Restore Your Focus, with Marc Berman

Jul 23, 2026 - 00:34:34

What if the secret to restoring your focus, improving your mental health, and even reducing crime rates w...

How to Raise Kids in the Age of AI, with Dana Suskind

Jul 9, 2026 - 00:33:09

As AI rapidly changes how we work, learn, and communicate, it also raises an urgent question: What does i...

What Our Trash Problem Says About Our Culture, with Sarah Newman

Jun 25, 2026 - 00:36:54

Every day, we throw things away, only to be forgotten forever. But society didn’t always work in the same...

How Websites Trick You Using ‘Dark Patterns’ with Marshini Chetty

Jun 11, 2026 - 00:37:08

Why does it seem so difficult to cancel an online subscription, delete an account, or opt out of data tra...

Quantum Technology, Explained: A Big Brains Live Event

May 28, 2026 - 00:39:57

Quantum technology is at a pivotal moment. No longer the faraway dream of scientists, the field is rapidl...

Our Untapped Superpower: Connecting With Others, with Nicholas Epley

May 14, 2026 - 00:38:39

As humans, we have a biological need for connecting with others, but in today's modern world, we tend to...