A regional utility called on an artificial intelligence data site to alter its electricity usage during a period of grid strain. On a sweltering August evening in Silicon Valley, the sun dropped while residential and commercial air conditioning loads spiked. In response to these conditions, Silicon Valley Power sent a signal to an AI factory to adjust its power consumption.
Dozens of observers gathered remotely to witness the operational adjustment as it took place. Varun Sivaram watched the sequence over Zoom together with approximately forty other participants. Among those observing were engineers alongside his team at Emerald AI, who monitored the proceedings directly from their San Francisco conference room.