Why did AI pass Bitcoin in energy spending?

[ultrloa]

I don't see the point of comparison here. Data centers that run AI applications are taxed, centralized, and fully cooperate with authorities, while Bitcoin is decentralized and governments may not be able to effectively control it. In short, the problem isn't electricity consumption or environmental damage, but rather the difficulty of controlling Bitcoin.

Maybe they caught up much on those bias articles released that spreading before. That's why they made those comparison, but Ai didn't get much any complain because government is benefiting on it since they can control or monitor.

But in Bitcoin its different case, because government cannot actually control it and that's the reason why those negative propaganda came out and they try to discredit the greatness of Bitcoin. Then point out that this is more destructive on environment since it consumes lots of energy. Maybe they used that because this is the easiest reason which they can use to give bad shade on Bitcoin. So with those things the issue is not really all about who use more energy. But rather which is the one can easily controlled by government and which is the hard one.

[rat03gopoh]

Both serve different purposes. AI's scope is broader and touches nearly every aspect of life (and even creates more dependency). The energy consumed is commensurate with the output they generate. I think it's more comparable to the energy consumption of Bitcoin and the global banking sector. Or, if necessary, consider the energy from mining gold to ending up in digits in an app.

[stompix]

Today I don't see these pressures from governments and environmental activists on AI companies

You don't see what?

New York becomes first U.S. state to impose AI data center ban
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/14/new-york-ai-data-center-ban.html

Australia to Put Environmental Brakes on A.I. Data Centers
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/world/australia/albanese-artificial-intelligence-guardrails.html

40 mayors worldwide unite to fight back against the AI data centre surge
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/06/23/40-mayors-worldwide-unite-to-fight-back-against-the-ai-data-centre-surge

Energy Vampires: the AI data centres draining Australia
https://www.greenpeace.org.au/greenpeace-reports/ai-data-centres-draining-energy-australia/

Seriously, the hate on AI data centres is 1000x what it was on Bitcoin mining!

Have you seen a crowd this big protesting Bitcoin mining?

[BlackHatCoiner]

AI is owned by Big Tech companies with massive lobbying budgets, so their grid consumption gets completely ignored by politicians. It was never really about the environment, it was all about control.

Now that you mentioned it: Did you notice any "climate change / crisis" articles being spammed on the Internet lately?  Because I haven't.

[Alpha Marine]

Do you think the government used this pretext for persecution against Bitcoin?

Not only the government, but also anti-bitcoin people in general used the enemy and its dangers to the planet as an excuse to go against Bitcoin. It was very hypocritical because the oil companies and other companies produce more harmful waste to the planet than Bitcoin does. However, when it comes to AI, we have to look at the context.

AI is a great innovation for humans. It will make life better and easier, so we can say it's necessary. If the consequences are high energy, then so be it.
This is why I find it hypocritical when people call out oil companies. We can't live on this earth in this modern day without that oil that is extracted from the ground, so even though it is not done in a decent way, it's something that needs to be done.
AI will even get better than it is today; it will become a valuable part of technology in future.

[Odusko]

The attention is now shifting from Bitcoin to other things as the most energy consuming sector of the economy, this have been the attacks from government and it officials that don't really know what energy consumption is or are just saying that because they want to discredit Bitcoin ecosystem friendliness, this changed a lot of time now, AI presence and energy consumption is one among many other's that consumed more energy than Bitcoin but the government won't talk about that in the news.

[PrivacyG]

Maybe you need to use more AI. It really helps in everything.

I am sorry but I really do not feel any excitement at all about the idea of having a Google-on-steroids as my search engine that collects every thing I prompt, think, search for et cetera exploiting the use of that information to the highest point possible.

Basically all software and websites are written with AI help (or entirely written by AI).
Scientists are using it in their researches.

And to me that is very concerning.  We are stupidifying our selves on a faster pace than ever.  After TikTok, AI and what ever comes next, humanity may really reach the Idiocracy level of brain dead.

[bitmover]

Basically all software and websites are written with AI help (or entirely written by AI).
Scientists are using it in their researches.

And to me that is very concerning.  We are stupidifying our selves on a faster pace than ever.  After TikTok, AI and what ever comes next, humanity may really reach the Idiocracy level of brain dead.

It is more than that. It really does increase productivity 

At development, for example, I can create stuff with AI in 1-2 days thay I would need 2weeks- a month otherwise

[Zlantann]

Not only the government, but also anti-bitcoin people in general used the enemy and its dangers to the planet as an excuse to go against Bitcoin. It was very hypocritical because the oil companies and other companies produce more harmful waste to the planet than Bitcoin does. However, when it comes to AI, we have to look at the context.

Elon Musk stopped the use of Bitcoin for payment in Tesla because of concerns raised by environmentalists. Now he is one of the major investors in the AI industry. These companies are more concerned about financial benefits than the environment.

AI is a great innovation for humans. It will make life better and easier, so we can say it's necessary. If the consequences are high energy, then so be it.
This is why I find it hypocritical when people call out oil companies. We can't live on this earth in this modern day without that oil that is extracted from the ground, so even though it is not done in a decent way, it's something that needs to be done.
AI will even get better than it is today; it will become a valuable part of technology in future.

Your argument is logical since AI is slowly becoming part of our everyday lives. But its importance shouldn't be a reason for the havoc data centers are causing to communities. Extreme energy and water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by these centers, if not controlled, would affect different communities. Just as these anti-Bitcoin forces formed well-organized associations, I expect these environmentalists to keep pushing for data centers to have an alternative and safe source of power.