"Most Of The Data Centers Do Not Consume Water" - Ladies & Gentlemen, The Governor Of Utah!!

[hunter]

8. It's a misdirection to focus on the water use of the data centers themselves.

These data centers get most of their energy from fossil fuel power plants that use huge amounts of water for evaporative cooling.

It's possible to build air cooled fossil fuel power plants, and these are commercially available, but they are less efficient than water cooled plants and therefore emit more carbon dioxide for the electricity they produce than water cooled power plants. Air cooled high temperature nuclear power plants are not commercially available, although many possible designs for them have been proposed.

The idea that desalinated ocean water could be transported to Salt Lake City (elevation 1,300 meters) is economically is absurd. What's usually proposed is that desalinated water would be used nearer the ocean allowing upstream cities to take more fresh water from higher elevations at huge environmental cost. Imagine the Colorado River or Snake River running dry at their headwaters.

When authoritarian political and religious leaders talk about competing with China in regards to these data centers I believe they know what the actual prize is. When the AI bubble bursts these data centers will be turned into huge surveillance machines. Big Brother's thought police will be watching you.