Solarpunk

I'm also a lot more concerned about energy use than water. Golf courses use 30x more water than data centers. Residential lawns, arguably the most useless crop in the world, use 9 billion gallons of water every day. Orders of magnitude more water goes into growing corn for livestock feed and biofuels.

The immediate issue is how much electricity AI consumes and where that electricity comes from, as that has the larger impact on public health and the environment. xAI relies on gas turbines that violate environmental rules and pollute the surrounding communities. The surge in demand for electricity is driving the cost higher, further increasing the cost of living for a lot of families. It's like the focus on water has become a convenient distraction for AI companies to deflect from the more pressing problem.

That said, I don't think the water issue should be dismissed either, especially since the water demand is projected to increase fourfold by 2028. They're both legitimate concerns. I just think energy generation is the one with the greater consequences and should be getting more of the attention.

Metrics sourced from here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew-couillard_every-ai-data-center-in-america-uses-less-activity-7465076822012235777-QONC