Issue 01 · November 2026Verified factsLinked sourcesBilingual
Prisma
ESEN
№ 01Cover

Facts,
front and
center.

Data centers and artificial intelligence. Two connected topics, told with data and its sources.

Read the issue
Server racks lit with blue light in a data center Photo: BalticServers.com · CC BY-SA 3.0
1.5%

of the world's electricity was used by data centers in 2024 (about 415 TWh, estimate).
Source: IEA, Energy and AI

In this issue

Two topics,
in depth.

No opinion, no sides: what the data says and who publishes it.

Topic 01CERN server roomPhoto: Florian Hirzinger · CC BY-SA 3.0
4.4 %of US electricity went to data centers in 2023 · LBNL

Data centers

How much energy and water they use, what they bring and what they cost: with pros and cons.

Both sides

Pros and cons,
given equal weight.

Each topic has six points for and six against, each with its figure and source. Here's a sample.

Pros

  1. $1.2billion · FY2026
    Data centers: local revenue

    Data center taxes in Loudoun County, Virginia: 39% of the county budget. Loudoun County

  2. 200million proteins
    AI: science

    AlphaFold2 predicted their structures; 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. NobelPrize.org

Cons

  1. $7.27billion
    Data centers: grid costs

    Increase attributed to their load in PJM's 2026/2027 capacity auction. Monitoring Analytics

  2. −20 %jobs, ages 22–25
    AI: entry-level jobs

    Drop in employment of young developers since 2024. Stanford AI Index

Pros and cons: data centers →Pros and cons: AI →

~415 TWhworld data center electricity, 2024 (estimate)IEA →
29.6 GWpower capacity of AI data centers (AI Index 2026)Energy and AI →
88 %of surveyed organizations used AI in 2025Stanford AI Index →
Why trust us

Everything,
sourced.

How we choose sources →

  1. The original documentEvery figure links to the report, study or official record.
  2. Measured, kept apartEstimates and projections are always labeled.
  3. Both sidesPros and cons with the same number of points. The conclusions are yours.