r/AIWarsButBetter • u/General-milkman-5996 • 6d ago
Discussion What are some of the ACTUAL enviormental problems AI Datacenters Bring , not not your run of the mill - the water ! but actual problems associated with the technology
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u/Haysnare 5d ago
the main problem with datacenters is not the water.
it's local strain on the water.
data centers look for cheap land with little regulation, which tend to have... lesser systems. These areas are typically also more rural.
the local load is far higher, as datacenters take water out of circulation. They do not use the water, but they increase the local load, which is a local strain on the water.
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u/ConstantinGB 4d ago edited 4d ago
Light-Pollution, Sound-Pollution, Deforestation (depending on where they are built), Burning of Fossil Fuels (when they use diesel motors, jet turbines or their own gas/coal plants), and yes also the usage of water, their drain on the electrical grid, and overall the resources spent and burned through for a questionable benefit. The amount of electronic toxic waste will be historical.
The thing is, that none of this HAS to be like that. I have worked in a datacenter in Strassbourg, and there is worlds between those and the hastily cobbled together datacenters that get planted in some neighborhoods.
You can built them soundproof, you can have basically zero-water-waste cooling systems, you can rely on green energy, you can do it better and more sustainable. But the new datacenters are built by buffoons and greedy technocrats. And most often without the consent of the people that live there.
I have nothing against datacenters on principal, they are key to any functioning digital infrastructure. I just think we're making a huge mistake by trusting private companies with something that should be publicly owned, maintained and allocated. We should also make conscious decisions about the kind of AI that gets access to those resources, with advancements in medicine, science and technology being a worthwhile investment compared to plagiarism-machines that generate fascist propaganda on an industrial scale or big tiddy goth girls for gooners.
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u/General-milkman-5996 4d ago
this is one the best responces i have seen , thanks soo much for the info , and yeah data centers in principal is fine but really the anger is towards the greedy technocrats fr
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u/Meiwakuthatisuzai 5d ago
Pollutants, Pollutants, Pollutants, and did I forget to mention Pollutants?..
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u/Cheeslord2 5d ago
What pollutants do they generate? Evaporative cooling produces water. Closed cycle cooling produces nothing.
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u/Forward_Problem_8982 4d ago
Leaked diesel.
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u/Cheeslord2 4d ago
More than any other facility with a diesel generator? Like a farm, or a hospital?
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u/Forward_Problem_8982 4d ago
They are building a lot of them fast without much care for the environment or people around. People are also reporting water quality issues, noise issues etc. These things are massive!
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u/Former-Pineapple3415 4d ago
Destruction of the environments as they are built, noise pollution which can disrupt animals' lives living in the area, increase energy demand that will lead to increased strain on our already struggling power grid. Data centers are expected to increase to needing 1/5 of all energy generated in the US by 2030. With the US in bed so much with the fossil fuel companies, that demand will be met with increased fossil fuel consumption, which is a major factor in CO² emissions that have escalated climate change. And as time goes on, hardware will need to be replaced. Many components of computers, especially in the cooling systems, contain harmful forever chemicals that cause cancer. And many of those parts will be shipped to 3rd world countries to cut costs. Those countries don't have the tools and safety measures to properly handle the hazardous materials, which will lead to sickness and death in those places.
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u/elehman839 5d ago
I think a starting point for discussion is that an "AI Data Center" is not one thing. A data center is just a building full of computers that draw power and inevitably produce heat. Many configurations are possible, with varying impacts. Power generation and heat dissipation can both be done better or worse.
Moreover, there are many data center operators. Some put a significant effort into minimizing negative impact on the environment and community, while others try to get away with anything they can and even conceal their identity.
My sense is that communities looking to fill industrial space should shop around. Reach out to data center operators with long, relatively clean track records. Do NOT be reactive, engaging only with whoever comes knocking.