←back to thread

The AI water issue is fake

(andymasley.substack.com)
12 points andymasley | 1 comments | 12 Oct 25 19:43 UTC | HN request time: 0.251s | source
Show context
jerrybmarchant ◴[13 Oct 25 11:03 UTC] No.45567031[source]▶
This is the most grounded, data-driven take I’ve seen on AI and water use. The argument that AI is some outsized environmental villain when it comes to water just doesn’t hold up under scrutiny — especially when data centers are using a fraction of the water that golf courses or agriculture consume daily.

We should be critical of how tech impacts the environment, but let’s focus on the real issues (like electricity usage and e-waste), not the hyped-up distractions. Comparing AI water use to adding a few midsize towns across the U.S. really puts it in perspective.

replies(1): >>45567272 #
1. quickthrowman ◴[13 Oct 25 11:43 UTC] No.45567272[source]▶
Yeah, I did a bit of math for a comment I wrote here recently and found that a 1GW data center uses as much water for evaporative cooling as 200 acres or so of alfalfa (three harvests a year).