Powering the future: Why the AI revolution must be built on real energy security

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January, under the banner “A Spirit of Dialogue”, leaders will debate how to unlock growth, deploy innovation responsibly and build prosperity within planetary boundaries.

However, there is a challenge few are treating as the structural shift it is: a looming global energy conundrum, driven not only by population growth, urbanization and electrification but by a new energy-intensive force: artificial intelligence (AI).

According to the latest global data, energy demand continues to rise faster than historic averages. Electricity consumption is growing fastest of all, reflecting a global shift: more cooling, more industrial output, more electrification and increasingly, data centres, digital infrastructure and AI.

Yet even as energy consumption climbs, access remains deeply unequal. Billions still lack reliable electricity or clean cooking solutions; others overconsume. At this crossroads, we are facing not a transition but an expansion. And how we respond will shape whether the AI revolution lifts humanity or deepens divides.

AI used to be understood mostly as a digital phenomenon but that is changing fast as it becomes apparent how much this revolution rests upon very physical infrastructure. Behind every large-language model, every AI-generated image or video, lies a vast infrastructure of power-hungry chips, cooling systems, data centres and the power grids that must keep pace.

Some analysts estimate that data centre electricity consumption could nearly double by 2030 under high-demand AI growth scenarios. Others worry that AI-driven energy demand will crowd out the developing world’s needs and undercut global climate progress.

A ChatGPT query consumes seven times the energy of the average Google search, while creating a one-minute AI video uses about as much power as a typical Western household uses in an hour. And training a large AI model can draw more power than 100 homes do in a year in developed countries. Multiplying this by billions of users and millions of servers and the consumption numbers become staggering.

This puts energy supply, not just emissions, at the heart of the AI debate. In effect, we have entered an era in which chips are the new oil, data centres are refineries and reliable power is as strategic as pipelines once were.

Emerging economies are home to most of the world’s future population growth, urbanization and digital adoption. Their energy demand is rising steeply. Yet too often, energy-infrastructure investment and digital-era planning are separated: AI gets attention; energy supply does not. This must change.

A just global energy future requires that the countries powering the next digital wave have continued access to affordable and reliable energy – not just for households but for data centres, factories and infrastructure. Countries in the Global South must neither be left behind nor forced to choose between dark grids and dark data.

To get this right, global leaders and the private sector must recognize what is at stake and act accordingly. That means embracing a pragmatic, all-of-the-above energy strategy built around three pillars:

In this mix lies the only viable route to reconciling growth, technological progress and climate responsibility.

Regions such as the Gulf, with abundant energy resources, capital and ambition, can play a pivotal role.

They can provide stable, affordable energy for global AI infrastructure, mobilise capital for both fossil- and clean-energy investment, and, with agile policies and regulations, serve as a bridge between markets, exporting energy, building infrastructure and enabling growth across emerging economies.

At Davos 2026, participants must recognize that the energy-AI nexus is now centre stage. The themes of innovation, growth, and sustainability converge with energy security in very real ways.

This demands new cooperation: cross-border investment; shared frameworks for data-centre siting; incentives for efficient energy use; and global support for infrastructure in the Global South.

It also calls for innovation: AI can help optimize grids, forecast demand and help to integrate intermittent renewables but only if energy supply is dependable. AI and clean-energy deployment must therefore advance together to resolve the trilemma of security, equity and sustainability.

We are at a crossroads. One path offers prosperity: billions powered, economies digitalized, AI driving human potential. The other risks shortages, inequality and carbon lock-in, widening divides between technology-rich and energy-poor regions.

The challenge for 2026 and beyond is not only to accelerate clean-energy deployment but to rethink energy strategy altogether. This means seeing energy not just as a climate issue but as the foundation of digital infrastructure, economic equity and global stability.

Because in the AI age, energy is not merely a utility, it is the backbone of modern prosperity, innovation and opportunity.