Public and private sectors must partner to address generative AI’s interdependent energy and security requirements

This article examines the intertwined energy and cybersecurity challenges of scaling generative AI, highlighting that training large models greatly increases power and water demands and may require campus-scale data centers with dedicated on-site power. It warns that the growing importance of gen AI raises new availability and security risks—including attacks on the power grid—and calls for accelerated permitting, public–private partnerships, a shared security-responsibility model, and coordinated federal, state, and industry actions to ensure resilient power and robust cybersecurity controls.