Thread

Improper redaction reveals Google Data Center water and electricity usage

356 points · 458 comments · sensanaty

eleventen · 1791146118 · focus · HN ↗
There is sometimes incorrect conflation between what the datacenter is permitted for and what the datacenter actually draws.
> Many articles about current or future AI data centers report the number in the water permit they apply for as the amount of water they actually use day to day. But this almost never happens. [1]
This is from the problematic and often wrong but in this case correct Andy Masley. It's not completely clear to me whether this number is observed usage or a theoretical permitted maximum, in which case the actual usage could be even lower. It could be either.
[1] <a href="https://blog.andymasley.com/p/the-ai-water-issue-is-fake?open=false#%C2%A7every-popular-article-about-how-ais-water-use-is-bad-for-the-environment-in-the-last-year-has-had-a-wildly-misleading-framing" rel="nofollow">https://blog.andymasley.com/p/the-ai-water-issue-is-fake?ope...
1. XCabbage · 1791147536 · focus · HN ↗
  Why is Masley "problematic" and what's he been wrong about?
  1. eleventen · 1791148538 · focus · HN ↗
    He’s a Pro-AI ideologue who engages in the same motivated reasoning he complains about others using. His piece on heat island effects fell over under scrutiny because he just doesn’t have the analytical background to actually do these investigations.
    gfysfm · 1791154975 · focus · HN ↗
    > His piece on heat island effects fell over under scrutiny
    Do you have a link for this? I'm interested in learning more about why Masley is wrong on heat islands.

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