Two days ago I wrote about the latest tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and how crude was already climbing . Last night the situation took another turn for the worse.
According to Bloomberg, U.S. President Donald Trump flatly rejected any extension of the 60-day ceasefire agreement with Iran. Tehran responded by announcing it was shifting to a “fully offensive military posture.” For good measure Trump also threatened military action against Oman if the sultanate got in the way of his plans.
Oil did what oil does in these situations: it spiked. Brent is currently sitting just over $91 a barrel and the roller-coaster ride continues.
Oil analysts are already warning that the acute shortage and fresh escalation in the Strait of Hormuz are slamming Asia’s energy supply. That’s not abstract. Large data centres in places like Singapore and Japan run on electricity that is still heavily fossil-fueled in those regions. Suddenly the cost of keeping heavy AI models and cloud workloads spinning there becomes extremely painful.
The classic Catch-22 of the AI age
The big three – Google, Microsoft and AWS – have automated systems that can shift computing capacity (workloads) across the globe in hours to wherever electricity is currently cheaper and more reliable. Within a short time of a crisis like this, a noticeable chunk of that traffic starts flowing toward data centres in Sweden, Norway and Finland, powered by relatively stable hydro and nuclear.
The result is a sudden, largely invisible load on the Nordic electricity grid. And yes, occasionally it also produces local grumbling about the sudden roar of cooling fans from server halls in quiet Swedish towns that weren’t designed for maximum capacity 24/7.
The classic Catch-22 of the AI age
As a shareholder in AWS, Google and Microsoft I’m quietly grateful these systems exist and work so efficiently. At the same time, as a Nordic resident I’m the one paying the higher electricity bill that helps fund the party. Classic de-monetized zone.
Anyone else living this particular contradiction right now – cheering the tech stocks while watching the power invoice climb? Drop a comment. I’m genuinely curious how common this particular brand of modern absurdity has become.