National Grid is reportedly in talks with Google's machine-learning company DeepMind to see how the British firm's artificial intelligence (AI) technology can be used to help manage supply and demand and across the energy system. Speaking to the Financial Times (£), DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis said the company was in the "early stages" of discussions with the system operator to determine the role AI could have in managed the grid. "It would be amazing if you could save 10% of the country's energy usage without any new infrastructure, just from optimisation. That's pretty exciting," he told the FT. DeepMind added that there is particular interest in helping to better integrate renewable energy onto the grid by using machine learning to predict peaks in demand and supply, adding that it was in the process of exploring a "possible partnership".