Google's artificial intelligence can actually help the environment

With the push of a button this spring -- Google was instantly using 40% less energy to cool a handful of its data centers. The achievement, which Google hails as a major breakthrough, points to how artificial intelligence can be used to make data centers, power plants, energy grids and manufacturing plants more efficient. As these huge, energy-intensive operations use power more efficiently, fewer greenhouse gases are emitted. "We're really thrilled about the environmental impact," said Mustafa Suleyman, who leads applied AI at Google DeepMind, a group of London researchers behind the project. DeepMind has leapt to prominence by building computer systems capable of mastering everything from Atari games to the board game Go.