I keep seeing a lot of anti-AI and anti-crypto arguments that hinge on the idea that water is being “used up.” Data centers get described as if they’re consuming water the way a fire consumes wood, like it’s being permanently removed from the world.
Maybe I’m missing something, but that framing feels strange to me. In most cases the water is being used for cooling, it absorbs heat, some of it evaporates, and it goes back into the broader water cycle. It isn’t disappearing. It’s changing state and location for a while.
That’s not what people seem to be reacting to. What I don’t understand is why “water use” gets talked about as if it means water is being destroyed or permanently removed from the system. Cooling water changes temperature, sometimes changes phase, moves around, then re-enters the same cycle it’s always been in. So why is this the thing that my kids ask about? 🙃