Microsoft, Meta Reveals Collaborative Partnership With Google

In an email to TechCrunch, Microsoft revealed that they are already in the early testing phases of artificial intelligence (AI) system designed to analyze data from multiple sources to generate alerts regarding essential information about data center operations.

According to a spokesperson from Microsoft, the goal is to "prevent or mitigate the impact of safety incidents" in Google's data centers. Additionally, Microsoft also said that they are working on systems to help detect and predict factors that might affect data center construction schedules.

On the other hand, Meta announced that they are also finding use cases for AI in worker safety and system reliability in data centers. According to them, Meta's current goal is to utilize AI in anticipating how operations would be affected under "extreme environmental conditions" that could affect workers on the ground.

Such initiatives from Meta involve the use of AI to achieve a deeper understanding and overview of the conditions that could affect system reliability, such as power consumption, cooling, and airflow across Google's data centers and servers.

Harnessing Artificial Technology to Solve Big Tech Problems

All these developments showcase the expansive capabilities that AI can promise if harnessed to full potential. In late 2021, for example, Microsoft also revealed an anomaly detection technology powered by AI. It was used to monitor and ameliorate the impact of power and water usage events in data centers through electrical and mechanical devices.

Moreover, AI technology was also considered instrumental in creating means to easily assess issues in data centers while identifying ideal construction and operational locations for maximum power, network, and cooling efficiency.

Meta is also not new to AI-powered safety and monitoring initiatives. According to Techcrunch, Meta has also been utilizing AI to execute efficient air pumping and cooling systems for their data centers. The AI technology used here was backed by reinforcement learning as well. This meant that the AI system was designed to identify all probable solutions to a problem in order to find the best possible course of action.

What Are Google Data Centers? 

Beyond mere cooperation among tech giants, such initiatives also appear to make perfect business sense. In a report published by the Uptime Institute, data centers are now experiencing a "disturbing frequency" in the number of downtime incidents. The more they happen in the future, they become "increasingly damaging and expensive for operators."

Google data centers are facilities with "many computers that store and process large amounts of information." According to Google, this technology lets them keep their products and services running 24/7 globally.

Google data centers are primarily responsible for enabling services such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Search, among others. If Google's data centers fail, all those functions would also grind to a halt.