AI grows 25 points in factories; Europe races against it.

Artificial intelligence is booming in Brazilian industries.

Artificial intelligence has registered the greatest growth among technologies adopted by Brazilian factories in the last two years. The leap was significant: AI adoption increased from 16.9% in 2022 to 41.9% in 2024, a growth of 25 percentage points that reveals a new frontier of connectivity in production environments.

This advancement reflects the urgent need for industries to modernize processes, increase efficiency, and reduce operating costs. However, the rapid expansion of technology brings with it significant challenges—especially in terms of energy and water consumption.

The environmental cost of the technological revolution.

While factories embrace AI, data centers around the world face a growing challenge: unprecedented energy and water consumption. High-performance computer chips generate so much heat that they require sophisticated cooling systems—combining industrial air conditioning and cold water pipes that, after passing through the equipment, are discharged heated.

This scenario was highlighted in a special report by Jornal Nacional during COP 30, which warned that the expansion of artificial intelligence companies will require unprecedented energy consumption. Technology companies sign long-term contracts with renewable energy suppliers, but the mixing of energy in the grid makes it difficult to guarantee that every electron consumed comes from clean sources.

The situation is further complicated by political decisions: the Donald Trump administration ordered a halt to new wind farms and solar power plants, reducing the capacity for expansion of renewable energy sources just when the demand for clean energy is reaching historic levels.

Global race: USA, China and Europe at different paces

The accelerated adoption of AI in Brazil is occurring within a context of increasingly fierce global technological competition. A new European report reveals three distinct speeds in the race for supremacy in artificial intelligence, chips, and quantum computing.

United States They maintain their leadership, with giants like Google, IBM, Nvidia, and Intel forming an integrated innovation system. China It has reduced the gap impressively: more than 55% of the radical innovations recorded between China, the US and the European Union are Chinese, especially in computer vision, smart surveillance, drones and smart cities.

Europe, Despite its strong scientific base, it is losing traction. The continent suffers from excessive bureaucracy and a lack of commercial scale, relying mainly on public institutions and research centers. Meanwhile, China is betting on diversity, with state-owned enterprises, startups, and universities working together.

What changes for Brazil

For Brazilian industries, the 25-point increase in AI adoption signals a structural transformation. But this transformation is not isolated: it is part of a global competition where those who do not keep pace risk falling behind.

The challenge is not only technological, but also environmental and geopolitical. While Brazilian factories modernize with AI, they need to be aware of the impacts on energy consumption and the implications of the competition between technological powers—which affects everything from the availability of chips to renewable energy policies.

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash