This is clear and terrifying information. Thank you for the work you do to inform the complacent among us. Add in the rise in temperature surrounding these centers and the fact that the "AI" industry is driving the US economy and we have a truly abhorrent soup!
I'm glad the article is finding open eyes and ears! And the industry driving the US economy is something I didn't touch on in the article, but you're right that it makes all of this even more troubling. I feel like everyone is just waiting for this bubble to burst eventually.
Hello from Memphis -- home of the data center owned and operated by none other than one of the most amoral and evil beings ever - Elon Musk.
Part of the deal with him was that he would build a "graywater" processing plant to protect the drinking water supply.
Construction is on an "indefinite hold" pending the completion of two additional operating sites. Onsite project manager has changed -- a diversionary and delay tactic in my mind to start conversations/relationships all over at ground zero.
my money is on that the water facility will never come to fruition.
I'm sorry to hear about your home being targeted by Musk. Unfortunately, the delays and cover-ups seem to be very common tactics. I hope Memphis is able to bring him to heel eventually to protect the water quality.
it's very sad -- and of course his sites are in neighborhoods that have seen the effects of environmental pollution and corporate irresponsibility and mismanagement before.
I don't think the answer is to get rid of these parasitic constructs, because I don't think you can. I mean, we still have coal. The answer is to find solutions that make them sustainable. The data center and chip industry have established solutions to their water use problems. It will take regulations to force them to employ those solutions and cost will rise, but at least that problem has a solution. I don't see the energy industry even trying to solve their fracking/water use problem that is an order of magnitude larger. I'm optimistic the energy problems can be addressed. Maybe not totally solved but "behind the meter" solutions will likely be leveraged where data centers deploy their own power. If only we could make them use alternative fuels.
I think it's possible, although it will take a monumental effort. Making data centers sustainable is a good goal, but it'll be far easier to achieve once data centers aren't focused on AI, since that's the main reason all of the issues are exacerbated. Without the focus on that, the problems and the sustainable solutions come within reach.
What if the answer to the growing demand for data centers wasn't more strain on the land, the water, and the communities around them, but instead a new era of sustainability and ingenuity?
What if the same creativity that powers artificial intelligence could be directed toward cleaner energy, smarter cooling systems, and technologies that leave the world better than they found it?
There’s something hopeful in that vision, a future where innovation doesn't compete with nature but works alongside it, where the tools we build become part of the solution to challenges that have troubled us for generations.
Like a mountain stream finding its way through the landscape, perhaps the greatest promise of technology is not simply what it can create, but how it can help us live more thoughtfully, more efficiently, and more harmoniously with the world we share. Time to guilt these wealthy tech bros to do the right thing.
I don't find artificial intelligence (at least in its current form) to be worth pursuing much, since it doesn't produce any new material or intellectual goods, but I absolutely agree with your take on redirecting our effort towards sustainable energy, even if the impetus is AI. Something like solar power would go a long ways towards providing us with our energy requirements.
I began using computers seriously back in the 90s. Back then, the idea that computers might someday “take over” was standup material— a joke. These were machines that routinely collapsed while trying to open TrueType fonts. Nobody imagined ever handing them serious authority... until now.
And, not to mention, no ordinary citizen going about his ordinary life even knows why we need data centres anyway, know have no clue, what do they do, what does it mean, someone please tell me specifically what they are, why do we need them
This is clear and terrifying information. Thank you for the work you do to inform the complacent among us. Add in the rise in temperature surrounding these centers and the fact that the "AI" industry is driving the US economy and we have a truly abhorrent soup!
I'm glad the article is finding open eyes and ears! And the industry driving the US economy is something I didn't touch on in the article, but you're right that it makes all of this even more troubling. I feel like everyone is just waiting for this bubble to burst eventually.
Hello from Memphis -- home of the data center owned and operated by none other than one of the most amoral and evil beings ever - Elon Musk.
Part of the deal with him was that he would build a "graywater" processing plant to protect the drinking water supply.
Construction is on an "indefinite hold" pending the completion of two additional operating sites. Onsite project manager has changed -- a diversionary and delay tactic in my mind to start conversations/relationships all over at ground zero.
my money is on that the water facility will never come to fruition.
I'm sorry to hear about your home being targeted by Musk. Unfortunately, the delays and cover-ups seem to be very common tactics. I hope Memphis is able to bring him to heel eventually to protect the water quality.
it's very sad -- and of course his sites are in neighborhoods that have seen the effects of environmental pollution and corporate irresponsibility and mismanagement before.
I don't think the answer is to get rid of these parasitic constructs, because I don't think you can. I mean, we still have coal. The answer is to find solutions that make them sustainable. The data center and chip industry have established solutions to their water use problems. It will take regulations to force them to employ those solutions and cost will rise, but at least that problem has a solution. I don't see the energy industry even trying to solve their fracking/water use problem that is an order of magnitude larger. I'm optimistic the energy problems can be addressed. Maybe not totally solved but "behind the meter" solutions will likely be leveraged where data centers deploy their own power. If only we could make them use alternative fuels.
I think it's possible, although it will take a monumental effort. Making data centers sustainable is a good goal, but it'll be far easier to achieve once data centers aren't focused on AI, since that's the main reason all of the issues are exacerbated. Without the focus on that, the problems and the sustainable solutions come within reach.
Oh frump is going to reuse Coal! It’s The worst for air quality and killing people!
What if the answer to the growing demand for data centers wasn't more strain on the land, the water, and the communities around them, but instead a new era of sustainability and ingenuity?
What if the same creativity that powers artificial intelligence could be directed toward cleaner energy, smarter cooling systems, and technologies that leave the world better than they found it?
There’s something hopeful in that vision, a future where innovation doesn't compete with nature but works alongside it, where the tools we build become part of the solution to challenges that have troubled us for generations.
Like a mountain stream finding its way through the landscape, perhaps the greatest promise of technology is not simply what it can create, but how it can help us live more thoughtfully, more efficiently, and more harmoniously with the world we share. Time to guilt these wealthy tech bros to do the right thing.
I don't find artificial intelligence (at least in its current form) to be worth pursuing much, since it doesn't produce any new material or intellectual goods, but I absolutely agree with your take on redirecting our effort towards sustainable energy, even if the impetus is AI. Something like solar power would go a long ways towards providing us with our energy requirements.
Regardless how we move into the future.. the answer will always come from intent. We need to leave things better than we found them.
I began using computers seriously back in the 90s. Back then, the idea that computers might someday “take over” was standup material— a joke. These were machines that routinely collapsed while trying to open TrueType fonts. Nobody imagined ever handing them serious authority... until now.
https://jaywilson1.substack.com/p/be-careful-what-you-wish-for?r=10sd39&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
And, not to mention, no ordinary citizen going about his ordinary life even knows why we need data centres anyway, know have no clue, what do they do, what does it mean, someone please tell me specifically what they are, why do we need them