Bitcoin Mining and AI Energy Consumption – What Are the Concerns?

The Potential of Web 3.0 for AI and ML

As interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) increases, the computing resources needed to power them are in high demand. However, according to Alex Busarov, founder of Heatbit, traditional Bitcoin (BTC) miners are not yet taking advantage of this potential. During an interview with Cointelegraph journalist Joe Hall at Web Summit 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, Busarov explained that data centers and small-scale computing power providers are more informed about Bitcoin mining than the AI and ML infrastructure space.

“The reason for that is when people talk about AI, that’s normally the actual application side of AI; it can speak for you, or it can create your voice or whatnot, but people don’t really think of the compute side of AI as much,” he said.

Heatbit has created hardware devices that are capable of mining Bitcoin while simultaneously generating heat to warm homes. The circuit boards used in these Bitcoin-mining heaters can also be used for AI training and computing resources, making them a great example of the potential of Web 3.0 for AI and ML.

Heatbit’s Marketing Strategy

At the Web Summit, Heatbit had the opportunity to showcase its BTC-centric focus, as well as its potential to be used as an AI training resource. Part of the company’s strategy is to address the negative perception of Bitcoin mining’s energy usage.

Heatbit’s hardware is designed for AI and ML, and while acknowledging the BTC-heaters for innovating Bitcoin mining by allowing it to be a secondary heating source in colder climates, Busarov believes that the wider GPU and ASIC infrastructure ecosystem may not necessarily shift away from Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining endeavors.

Basemark Web 3.0, a benchmarking tool for measuring the performance of web browsers, is another example of how Heatbit is utilizing AI and Science AI to advance their technology.

What is Web 3.0?

Heatbit founder believes that home mining could become more feasible in the future, as the precision of hardware required for large-scale mining means that the cost of energy is the main competition. Busarov states that integrating mining with other features such as cooling and heating will lead to zero energy costs for mining.

As Cointelegraph recently reported, the need for AI computing resources is escalating. Startups like io.net are utilizing blockchain technology to create networks that source GPU computing power from various data centers, cryptocurrency miners, and decentralized storage providers in order to power machine learning and AI computing.