AI's hidden supply chain explained: why it's more fragile than you think | LSE Research
From writing emails and generating art to reshaping industries, artificial intelligence is transforming daily life. But what powers artificial intelligence? And how stable is the infrastructure it's built on?
AI isn’t just software — it’s hardware, geopolitics, rare earth mining, and an energy-hungry race for dominance. As AI becomes more embedded in our lives, the need to understand its material foundations has never been more urgent.
In this video, we explore the fragile and often invisible supply chain behind AI, including the mining of rare earth metals, the role of GPUs and semiconductors, and the massive energy demands driving this new digital gold rush. From TSMC's advanced microchip manufacturing in Taiwan, to ASML’s one-of-a-kind EUV lithography machines in the Netherlands, and NVIDIA’s dominance in powering generative AI, we break down the six key stages behind today’s most powerful AI systems.
Dr Nils Peters explains why even a small disruption to this global network could have huge consequences — not just for big tech, but for all of us.
New videos every month on AI, technology and their impact on society 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK4elntcUEy1_ckZz-Q1KjWvVSVOFXkh9
00:00 - Intro: AI is everywhere — but what is it made of?
00:42 - The six stage of the AI supply chain
01:00 - Data centres and cloud infrastructure
01:27 - How Nvidia, chips, and semiconductors power generative AI
02:31 - The role of rare earths and raw materials
03:06 - How fragile is AI’s global supply chain?
03:39 - Dr Nils Peters: Moore’s Law & manufacturing limits
04:50 - What the future holds the AI infrastructure
#ArtificialIntelligence
From writing emails and generating art to reshaping industries, artificial intelligence is transforming daily life. But what powers artificial intelligence? And how stable is the infrastructure it’s built on?
AI isn’t just software — it’s hardware, geopolitics, rare earth mining, and an energy-hungry race for dominance. As AI becomes more embedded in our lives, the need to understand its material foundations has never been more urgent.
In this video, we explore the fragile and often invisible supply chain behind AI, including the mining of rare earth metals, the role of GPUs and semiconductors, and the massive energy demands driving this new digital gold rush. From TSMC’s advanced microchip manufacturing in Taiwan, to ASML’s one-of-a-kind EUV lithography machines in the Netherlands, and NVIDIA’s dominance in powering generative AI, we break down the six key stages behind today’s most powerful AI systems.
Dr Nils Peters explains why even a small disruption to this global network could have huge consequences — not just for big tech, but for all of us.
New videos every month on AI, technology and their impact on society 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK4elntcUEy1_ckZz-Q1KjWvVSVOFXkh9
00:00 – Intro: AI is everywhere — but what is it made of?
00:42 – The six stage of the AI supply chain
01:00 – Data centres and cloud infrastructure
01:27 – How Nvidia, chips, and semiconductors power generative AI
02:31 – The role of rare earths and raw materials
03:06 – How fragile is AI’s global supply chain?
03:39 – Dr Nils Peters: Moore’s Law & manufacturing limits
04:50 – What the future holds the AI infrastructure
#ArtificialIntelligence
