Basically my (and from what I remember, his) point is, stop thinking water use is the problem with AI datacenters. Even power use isn’t the problem. We have all the technology and solutions necessary to build all this compute responsibly and sustainably, it’s more than doable, it wouldn’t even be particularly difficult.
The problem is hyperscaling and the lack of regulation (or straight up ignored regulation) that enables it, and the greedy people and corrupt politicians that want it to happen and let it happen. This is yet another thing that basically no other country in the world has real problems with besides the US of A, because in no other country is the shit your datacenters are doing legal. By barking up the wrong tree you are delaying the realisation that the problem is in your system and nowhere else.
Yup. Water cooling is a closed circuit (unless you shit money or have a near unlimited supply, like with a river nearby). We’ve been water-cooling all kinds of shit in data centers and production plants forever. In fact, direct water cooling is more efficient than traditional AC, because you don’t need to blow a bunch of air around, you just apply cold water to the hot parts, and cool the water back down afterwards. Sensitive stuff uses deionised water anyway, but I don’t know if they care enough for DCs. That is kind of expensive to produce and maintain, you really try to avoid larger leaks and spills.
There are plenty of issues with the datacenters, from the bullshit on-site gas turbines to noise pollution to using up the world’s RAM supply to the whole replacing humans with “AI” issue. But all of those could be solved with proper regulation.
Simple, they are more expensive per what cooled than evaporative cooling. Especially when a lot of data centers under report the amount of water they are using.
This is yet another thing that basically no other country in the world has real problems with besides the US of A
USA companies are trying to export their brand of lawlessness to other countries. Just ignore the regulations, pay a fine, if they can’t kill it in court, and carry on.
relevant Hank Green video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_c6MWk7PQc
Basically my (and from what I remember, his) point is, stop thinking water use is the problem with AI datacenters. Even power use isn’t the problem. We have all the technology and solutions necessary to build all this compute responsibly and sustainably, it’s more than doable, it wouldn’t even be particularly difficult.
The problem is hyperscaling and the lack of regulation (or straight up ignored regulation) that enables it, and the greedy people and corrupt politicians that want it to happen and let it happen. This is yet another thing that basically no other country in the world has real problems with besides the US of A, because in no other country is the shit your datacenters are doing legal. By barking up the wrong tree you are delaying the realisation that the problem is in your system and nowhere else.
Yup. Water cooling is a closed circuit (unless you shit money or have a near unlimited supply, like with a river nearby). We’ve been water-cooling all kinds of shit in data centers and production plants forever. In fact, direct water cooling is more efficient than traditional AC, because you don’t need to blow a bunch of air around, you just apply cold water to the hot parts, and cool the water back down afterwards. Sensitive stuff uses deionised water anyway, but I don’t know if they care enough for DCs. That is kind of expensive to produce and maintain, you really try to avoid larger leaks and spills.
There are plenty of issues with the datacenters, from the bullshit on-site gas turbines to noise pollution to using up the world’s RAM supply to the whole replacing humans with “AI” issue. But all of those could be solved with proper regulation.
Most data centers use evaporative cooling, not closed circuit water cooling.
Do they really? What the fuck. What happened to proper heat pump AC systems?
Simple, they are more expensive per what cooled than evaporative cooling. Especially when a lot of data centers under report the amount of water they are using.
USA companies are trying to export their brand of lawlessness to other countries. Just ignore the regulations, pay a fine, if they can’t kill it in court, and carry on.