No one can accuse Elon Musk of lacking ambition. His latest idea? Launching data centres into space, where abundant solar energy and very low temperatures could solve the challenges of power and cooling. To help make this happen, he is merging SpaceX, his rocket and satellite-broadband company, with xAI, his artificial-intelligence lab, ahead of a planned stockmarket flotation. It is the kind of audacious bet that has made the world’s richest man both admired and derided. Other companies are also touting the benefits of orbital data centres. How would they work? Do the numbers add up? And what does all this reveal about the state of AI more broadly? Tom Standage, our deputy editor, and Alex Hern, our AI writer, consider the evidence.
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