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The AI water issue is fake

Andy Masley · 11 Oct 2025

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The water-use objection to AI does not survive arithmetic: skipping one burger a month covers a person's token footprint, and golf uses more water than every data centre together.

Their wordsSo AI consumes approximately 0.04% of America’s freshwater if you include onsite and offsite use, and only 0.008% if you include just the water in data centers.

Also said by Peter Steinberger

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  1. Our reading

    The water-use objection to AI does not survive arithmetic: skipping one burger a month covers a person's token footprint, and golf uses more water than every data centre together.

    Their wordsSo AI consumes approximately 0.04% of America’s freshwater if you include onsite and offsite use, and only 0.008% if you include just the water in data centers.

  2. Our reading

    A data centre earns its county far more tax revenue per gallon of water than a golf course does.

    Their wordsData centers are so much more efficient with their water that they generate 50x as much tax revenue per unit of water used than golf courses in the county:

  3. Our reading

    The claim that data centres poison the water around them is false.

    Their wordsIt’s very common that I’m told that data centers poison the water around them.

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