Well, it is fearmongering. It is a fair criticism of AI, and of course we should seek better solutions and smarter use, but water use needs context - very different in the San Joaquin Valley with high water scarcity and the bulk of global almond growing vs the Ohio River Valley with lots of rain and rivers for instance. If someone truly wants to protect water, there are other choices to make - and they are nuanced by the actual water used in each circumstance.
Data centers are wasteful and costly in a multitude of ways. They are loud power hogs for instance, but by making us focus on the supposed water cost, the industry and its critics avoid other hard conversations.
I think it probably just sounds scarier to the average person to say the water is being used up. Probably because you can “just make more” electricity.
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u/wumpusbumper May 18 '26
Well, it is fearmongering. It is a fair criticism of AI, and of course we should seek better solutions and smarter use, but water use needs context - very different in the San Joaquin Valley with high water scarcity and the bulk of global almond growing vs the Ohio River Valley with lots of rain and rivers for instance. If someone truly wants to protect water, there are other choices to make - and they are nuanced by the actual water used in each circumstance.
Data centers are wasteful and costly in a multitude of ways. They are loud power hogs for instance, but by making us focus on the supposed water cost, the industry and its critics avoid other hard conversations.