Microsoft is using AI to cut the cloud's electric bill

AI guides the computers that drive the company's own data centers, helping decide which virtual server to use at any given point in order to complete a task, the company says. That allows it to process cloud tasks more efficiently than a traditional on-premises data center, simply because it's only using the power it needs to get a job done, says Liz Willmott, carbon program lead at Microsoft. Aside from the sheer energy demands of server and computing hardware, cloud storage centers come with hefty cooling costs. Microsoft says that its cloud facilities have been 100% carbon neutral since 2012, and the company has committed to using more renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower, and solar. But it's also been touting the benefits of software and AI for further cutting electricity use.