Data center used 30 million gallons of water without initially paying
Can AI save us from the AI industry’s endless thirst for water? Outlook not so good.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/data-center-used-30-million-gallons-of-water-without-initially-paying/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
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@arstechnica 'By feeding sensor data into AI, advanced smart meters can detect and “isolate” leaks, speeding up repairs and preventing excess water loss.'
And why are 'AI' leak detection systems needed? Normal non-'AI'leak detection systems have been around for decades
@arstechnica @gwaldby And then there’s their apparent inability to obey laws …
@arstechnica I appreciate that the headliner writer was subtly referencing the 'Magic 8 Ball' there...
@arstechnica ’AI’ won’t save anyone from anything, it’s a fucking statistical inference machine.
You can ask it a lot of stuff and some of it would even make sense, but it’s people who make these decisions, and since AI still can’t be trusted not to delete my home directory, there’s not an ounce of sense asking a question like that.
Go get your journalistic degree again and stop the billionaire’s PR gig for them, for free.. 🤦♂️
