Part 3: Rounding out 2025: Is Your AI Habit Using Too Much Power?

Dear Techies,

Welcome back to our special year-end series, Tech in 2025, Explained Simply! We’re reviewing the five tech shifts that became mainstream. We've talked about how AI is getting more helpful. But have you ever wondered what makes it work? It's easy to think of it as pure magic happening in the "cloud."

The truth is, all this smart tech needs real, physical stuff to run—mainly, a lot of electricity. In 2025, this became a major conversation because the AI boom started to bump up against the world's power supply. Let's see why that matters, even for beginners.

⚡ Why does AI need so much power? A Simple Analogy.

Think of a small, basic calculator. It uses a tiny bit of battery power to add 2+2.

A modern AI, like the one that writes paragraphs or identifies photos, is like a super-calculator doing billions of 2+2 problems at once. Every time you ask a chatbot a question or get an AI-generated image, it triggers a massive burst of this complex math inside football-field-sized buildings called data centers.

All that thinking generates heat and uses enough electricity to power entire neighbourhoods.

Why was this a big tech story in 2025?
Reports this year showed that the electricity needed for these data centers is growing incredibly fast. This new demand is forcing companies and governments to scramble for more power, highlighting that our digital world has a very real physical cost.

🌍 The Ripple Effect: What This Means for Your Tech

You might not run a data center, but this 2025 shift affects the tech world you live in.

• The "Greening" of Big Tech: Companies like Google and Microsoft are now racing to power their data centers with solar and wind energy. This push for clean energy is accelerating thanks to AI's power appetite.

• AI Comes to Your Device: To save energy, there's a major push for small AI—efficient models that run directly on your phone or laptop. This means faster, more private features for you, and less reliance on distant, power-hungry servers.

🎯 Your 5-Minute Mission: Become an Energy-Conscious User

Technique 1: Optimize Your Screen & Settings

• Turn Down Brightness: This is the single easiest win. A screen at full brightness can use nearly twice the power as one at a lower setting.

• Find "Eco Mode": Check the settings on your phone, browser (Chrome/Edge), or streaming apps (Netflix/YouTube). Enable Dark Mode, Low Power Mode, or Data Saver. These features are designed to reduce energy use.

Technique 2: Choose the Right Device for the Task

• Use Smaller Screens When Possible: Browsing on a phone or tablet uses less energy than on a large laptop monitor or a big TV. Match your device to the task—save the big screen for when you really need it.

Technique 3: Love Your Old Tech a Little Longer

• Extend Your Device's Life: Every new device has a hidden "embodied" carbon cost from manufacturing. By keeping your current phone, laptop, or tablet for an extra year, you help reduce the demand for new devices and lower our total material footprint.

Try This: For one day, lower your screen brightness and enable a power-saving mode on your most-used device. Notice if your battery lasts longer.

You’re not just saving a charge—you’re practicing smart digital energy conservation.

One Thing to Remember: Every bit of digital convenience has a physical cost. Using tech more mindfully is a smart habit for your battery, your wallet, and the planet.

Next week in Tech in 2025, Explained Simply: We'll bring this all back to you. What do these 2025 shifts mean for the skills you need?

Your Tech Partner,
Ijeoma Ndu, PhD

P.S. Did you try lowering your brightness or find a new Eco Mode? Hit reply and tell me! I keep Dark Mode on everything—it’s easier on my eyes, too.

P.S.S. Did you know I wrote a book? Tech Savvy Starts Here is available on Amazon—a practical, engaging guide for families and educators helping kids build confidence with technology. Check it out here.

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