Big tech has entered the oil business: Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are keen to market themselves as leaders in energy-saving initiatives. But the same machine learning technology these companies use to reduce dependence on fossil fuels in some areas is also being used to automate oil and gas discovery and extraction, this video from Vox shows (runtime: 09:01). Cutting edge machine learning AI processes data to train itself to operate as efficiently as possible. With oil being notoriously hard to find, this tech is just what oil companies need to stay profitable. Vast swathes of data amassed by oil companies can be fed to the AI, which can then pinpoint the best places to drill and streamline extraction to make it cheaper. The oil and gas industry spent USD 1.75 bn on AI in 2018 and this is expected to rise to USD 4 bn in 2025. And while they might be publicly trumpeting their role in a shift to renewables and a reduction in energy usage, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are all competing for a piece of that pie.