Why AI’s Hidden Bill Is About to Hit Everyone

Finance professor Olivier Darmouni argues that AI data centers have huge real-world costs. 

1 minute
Olivier Darmouni
Olivier Darmouni
Associate Professor and holder of the Pierre Andurand Chair in Sustainability
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In this episode of Breakthroughs, the HEC Paris professor explains how the boom in data centers could raise electricity prices, reshape investment in power infrastructure, and force Europe to think much harder about energy security. He also reflects on his recent hearing at France’s National Assembly, the difference between productive finance and financial extraction, and why overcoming the financial barriers to sustainability means finding credible ways to crowd in private capital.

Olivier Darmouni
Meet the Author
Olivier Darmouni
Associate Professor and holder of the Pierre Andurand Chair in Sustainability

Associate Professor at HEC Paris and holder of the Pierre Andurand Chair in Sustainability, Olivier Darmouni studies how finance shapes the real economy. A specialist in credit markets, energy transition and monetary policy, he examines how financial frictions influence corporate investment, access...

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