jwz

How much water do the data centres use? It's a secret.

Do you want Immortan Joes? Because this is how you get Immortan Joes. Roanoke gets its drinking water from Carvins Cove Reservoir. The locals tried to find out just how much water Google would be...
https://jwz.org/b/yk4G

Mar 8 at 3:08amjwz.org
Show threadpLMar 8
@jwz https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/ai-water-footprint
AI Water Footprint Calculator

The AI water footprint calculator estimates the amount of water and energy used by AI models, such as ChatGPT, as well as the environmental impact of their queries.

Omni Calculator
Show threadAdam KatzMar 8
@jwz naïve question: why don't water utilities use their tiered pricing systems and add new higher tiers with cranked prices? If utility companies won't do it (or it's insufficiently uniform), this could be a tax.
Show thread#?.info Mar 8
@adamhotep @jwz I have a feeling the same groups that are buying RAM for $10-15/gig would not balk at paying 10x the going rate for "all of the local water supply", so it wouldn't deter them, and the local community might end up with plenty of cash but they'd have no drinking water.
Show threadFace ThumbMar 8
@poundquerydotinfo @adamhotep @jwz Then next month you charge them 100x, then 1000x, etc. Eventually they think, "Maybe we should do something about this gigantic water bill?". Hopefully before they've used up all the water. Even if they use up all the water eventually anyway, at least the town gets $10 billion instead of $10 million.
Show threadMichael GemarMar 8
@jwz @Npars01 Why the fuck aren’t their cooling systems closed loops?
Show threadGrassroots JoeMar 8

@michaelgemar @jwz @Npars01

It's expensive to cool the water after the water cools the hardware in order to use it to cool the hardware again?

Show threadHelgeMar 8
@joeinwynnewood @michaelgemar @jwz @[email protected] Water is easier to cool down than a circuit board, as it can be looped through thin pipes to radiate away heat for free-ish. Or squished through a heatpump exchanger for cheap.
Show threadNicole ParsonsMar 8

@jwz

For an industry working hard at eliminating the civil right to privacy, AI grifters are very secretive.

Bedrooms & Bathrooms voyeurism for thee, furtiveness for me.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/surveillance-mandate-disguised-child-safety-why-guard-act-wont-keep-us-safe

A Surveillance Mandate Disguised As Child Safety: Why the GUARD Act Won't Keep Us Safe

A new bill sponsored by Sen. Hawley (R-MO), Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT), Sen. Britt (R-AL), Sen. Warner (D-VA), and Sen. Murphy (D-CT) would require AI chatbots to verify all users’ ages, prohibit minors from using AI tools, and implement steep criminal penalties for chatbots that promote or solicit certain harms. That might sound reasonable at first, but behind those talking points lies a sprawling surveillance and censorship regime that would reshape how people of all ages use the internet.

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Show threadChancerubbageMar 8

@jwz

Never have seen Mad Max Fury Road for the cultural reference although I’ve heard it’s awesome.

Thunderdome gave me sour milk cow blues, mostly due to its overwhelming presence as a music video vehicle.

Show threadWestern InfidelsMar 8
@jwz I don't understand how "representatives had already persuaded electricity and water officials to sign non-disclosure agreements." Why would anyone sign away all their power like this? Are they straight-up taking bribes?
Show threadBruce Simpson, Ph.D.Mar 14
@jwz An apparently local company is trying to open a so-called "AI datacentre" near where I live on the west coast of Scotland supposedly powered by renewables, but the quoted power consumption figures do NOT add up...