My friend, you are naive at best if you think AI data centers are using closed loop water cooling. Look up evaporative cooling towers. It’s “consumed” in the sense that it is evaporated.
I specifically avoided saying they did because I wasn’t knowledgeable on the topic. But I agree, I could equally be accused of being disingenuous by phrasing it in a way that could lead people to assume they use closed loops.
I did look those up, and while evaporation cooling isn’t the only method used, it also doesn’t evaporate all the water each pass, only a portion of it (granted “a portion” is all I found at a quick look, which isn’t actually useful).
I do agree though, the water usage is excessive, and when though that water only “changes forms”, it’s still removes it from a water source and only some of it may make its way back in.
My friend, you are naive at best if you think AI data centers are using closed loop water cooling. Look up evaporative cooling towers. It’s “consumed” in the sense that it is evaporated.
I specifically avoided saying they did because I wasn’t knowledgeable on the topic. But I agree, I could equally be accused of being disingenuous by phrasing it in a way that could lead people to assume they use closed loops.
I did look those up, and while evaporation cooling isn’t the only method used, it also doesn’t evaporate all the water each pass, only a portion of it (granted “a portion” is all I found at a quick look, which isn’t actually useful).
I do agree though, the water usage is excessive, and when though that water only “changes forms”, it’s still removes it from a water source and only some of it may make its way back in.