{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-uses-ai-to-boost-data-center-efficiency-and-cut-energy-w","json":"https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-uses-ai-to-boost-data-center-efficiency-and-cut-energy-w.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-uses-ai-to-boost-data-center-efficiency-and-cut-energy-w.md","slug":"mit-professor-uses-ai-to-boost-data-center-efficiency-and-cut-energy-w","headline":"MIT professor uses AI to boost data center efficiency and cut energy waste","summary":"Christina Delimitrou, an associate professor at MIT, is applying machine‑learning techniques to make large‑scale data centers run closer to full capacity. She notes that many facilities operate at only about 15 percent utilization, wasting power and increasing reliance on fossil‑fuel electricity. By redesigning cloud‑computing systems, managing shared hardware resources, and creating streamlined server architectures, her team aims to extract more compute from existing machines.\n\nThe lab has produced tools such as Seer, a deep‑learning system that predicts and prevents problems in web applications, and Ditto, which mimics an app’s structure and performance to enable realistic studies. Delimitrou stresses the need for explainable AI so developers can trust the recommendations and avoid opaque decisions. While proprietary hardware in commercial data centers can limit direct applicability, the research offers a pathway to reduce energy consumption, lower costs, and improve reliability for users ranging from music‑streaming services to video‑conferencing apps.\n\nThe work highlights how AI‑driven resource management could curb the environmental impact of the rapidly expanding global data‑center footprint.","keyPoints":["Data centers typically run at about 15% capacity, leading to excess power use","Delimitrou's group built Seer to anticipate web‑app issues and Ditto to emulate app performance","Machine‑learning‑based resource management aims to push utilization toward 100% and cut emissions"],"whyItMatters":"Higher data‑center efficiency reduces electricity demand, lowers carbon emissions, and cuts operating costs for cloud providers and their customers.","category":{"slug":"research","name":"Research","url":"https://digestai.news/category/research"},"entities":{"companies":["MIT","Cornell University","Stanford University"],"models":[],"people":["Christina Delimitrou","Christos Kozyrakis"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-08T04:00:00Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-08T04:00:00Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":true,"sources":[{"outlet":"MIT News on AI","title":"Using AI to mitigate the growing environmental threat of data centers","url":"https://news.mit.edu/2026/mitigating-environmental-threat-of-data-centers-christina-delimitrou-1008","publishedAt":"2026-10-08T04:00:00Z","type":"primary","primary":true,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"MIT professor uses AI to boost data center efficiency and cut energy waste\", 8 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-uses-ai-to-boost-data-center-efficiency-and-cut-energy-w","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"MIT professor uses AI to boost data center efficiency and cut energy waste","datePublished":"2026-10-08T04:00:00Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-uses-ai-to-boost-data-center-efficiency-and-cut-energy-w"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}