"Lets work out this food/air deal. Then go back to your ~~rutting~~ ai churn". -- Bill Hicks (paraphrased update.)
Fuck AI
"We did it, Patrick! We made a technological breakthrough!"
A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
going Tulips over 9000
I found this video from Hank Green interesting, it might give you the answers you're looking for. Also, as bad as AI's water consumption might sound, corn. Corn is the real problem.
The water argument has to be a straw man. It's only here so others can look at "us" and feel okay about doing nothing. There's soo too many better reasons to hate AI and water was never really one of them.
Another commenter explained evaporative cooling and how that displaces water. I don't believe open loop systems like that are common, however.
When the water source is groundwater or snowmelt, it is a problem to withdraw the water faster than it replenishes. It's not that uncommon to have drinking water come from a well (groundwater) and wastewater returned to a surface water system, which means you need to give water time to percolate back into the aquifers.
There are different types of closed loop systems. Some require a constant source of water, and some are refreshed periodically. Both could cause a strain on a sensitive ground water system, even if the water is returned to the wastewater system for treatment.
I'm not following the topic closely, but the articles I have read about opposition to specific projects tend to be either misunderstandings (coincidental wells being dry whereas the centre is taking surface water) or a lack of treatment system/distribution capacity, kind of like what you see with concerns about energy demands.