Why is AI so thirsty? – podcast | Artificial intelligence (AI)




Last week, Keir Starmer announced his plans to use artificial intelligence to drive “incredible change in our country”. Part of the strategy is to create “AI growth zones”, including one in Culham, Oxfordshire.

The decision caught the attention of the Guardian’s environment reporter Helena Horton.

“They’ve placed this growth zone in one of the most water-stressed areas of the UK,” Helena tells Michael Safi. “The Environment Agency has categorised that area as severely water stressed, and that’s why they’re building a new reservoir there.

“These data centres don’t just use a huge amount of energy, they also use a huge amount of water a lot of the time,” Helena says. “Because they’re processing so much data, the servers get really, really hot … so to stop the servers from overheating, they have to cool them down with water.”

But what about the argument that artificial intelligence will help solve issues around the climate, as some AI bosses have suggested?

“It’s good to have the world’s greatest thinkers thinking about climate change. But the issue is that it can be used as an excuse not to use the technology that we have now, and a lot of the technology we have to build renewables is pretty cutting-edge, the batteries that are being developed. They’re just not as kind of sexy as AI, you know?

“And it’s not an argument against AI itself. It’s just saying that if we are going to build these data centres that are required for AI, we need to be responsible with how we build them.”

Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod

Bottles of water under the shade of a hedge
Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA


Source link

Posted: 2025-01-23 06:04:53

Gardeners urged to put cardboard in their garden for 'vital reason'
 



... Read More

Drake withdraws legal petition over Kendrick Lamar diss track | Drake
 



... Read More

Saskatchewan dethrones Carleton in U Sports women's basketball final; Victoria routs Calgary for men's title
 



... Read More

World Cup 2026 qualifying seeds: England, Wales and Scotland fates | Football | Sport
 



... Read More

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of reaching out to prospective witnesses from jail | Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs
 



... Read More

Common 35p ingredient can keep cats from pooing in your garden
 



... Read More

UK aid budget to Sudan set to double amid famine fears | Global development
 



... Read More

Tuchel already making same mistake as Southgate with top player | Football | Sport
 



... Read More