Kim Nok-won, CEO of DeepX, speaks at the World Economic Forum. /Courtesy of DeepX

Kim Nok-won, the representative of DeepX, a semiconductor company based on neural processing units (NPU) characterized by low cost and high efficiency, attended the World Economic Forum held in Tianjin, China, as an official speaker and emphasized the importance of reducing energy usage in artificial intelligence (AI).

Kim noted, "AI already accounts for more than 1% of global electricity consumption, and this figure is expected to increase to 3% to 4% by 2030," and expressed concerns that "if the ongoing large-scale data center construction in various countries continues at this pace, AI could exceed the electricity demand that the current infrastructure and climate can handle."

He stated, "If we do not find a way to scale AI without causing energy and climate crises, the benefits of AI will be smaller than the expense," stressing that "reducing AI's energy consumption significantly should be a priority."

Kim introduced that their AI semiconductor processes AI computation directly within devices, reducing energy consumption by more than 90% without the use of energy-intensive cloud servers. He also added that because AI operates on devices, it provides real-time responses and ensures strong privacy and security.

In the panel discussion that followed Kim's speech, CEOs of global corporations discussed investment strategies and policy challenges in the deep tech industry, including AI.