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shaky-carrouseltoday at 10:37 AM4 repliesview on HN

The issue with AI datacenters was never about water. Water is an easily dismissable strawman that sloppers love to bring on.

The real issue with AI datacenters is the huge amounts of wasted energy, after decades of energy efficiency efforts.


Replies

trolleskitoday at 10:50 AM

The eagerness of the corps to switch from "we're all green" to 'fuck Earth with AI' is stunning. I was always suspicious towards the 'corporate left' but this one takes the cake. We must never trust those people again.

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dudisubektitoday at 11:14 AM

lol no, if this is the case then we would have banned beef: a grossly inefficient protein source that takes absurd amount of energy and water, and produce significant greenhouse gas waste. We would also ban disposable cheap goods.

Yet we don't.

If people don't like AI, they should just say so, no need to skirt around.

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Intralexicaltoday at 10:53 AM

I agree energy use is the more concerning issue, while water has probably caught more press because it's more tangible. But there's no getting around thermodynamics. That "wasted energy" is dissipated using large amounts of water.

elil17today at 10:48 AM

Additionally, using more water allows datacenters to be more energy efficient because evaporative cooling uses less energy than dry cooling. Datacenters outside of water stressed areas should absolutely being using water because doing so is better for the environment.