Eh I think I layed out some solid points but I will take the proverbial L on this one and quit debating as I am not the right person to do it and am looking at things from a picture logic perspective without great knowledge in the field --- Doesn't necessarily mean I am wrong but sure ya won this one.
'treatment' for water is ehh --- there are things they can't get out -- not sure if A.I contributes to this or not to be honest
Your respect points went through the roof in my book.
Seriously, I appreciate and admire that. And look, truly, there is no real L here, because now we're having a discussion more than a debate. So it's win-win. We both learned new stuff, new data was presented and we adjusted our positions accordingly. It certainly prompted me to do more research on exactly how these data centers affect local environments and communities. I appreciate the nudge and your passion in caring about your fellow humans and being suspicious of tech bro billionaire ambitions.
I wonder where the Chinese gov locates its substantial data centres to support its social credit score/surveillance-esque system.
Good question. China just started locating many of its new data center clusters in its western side where it has a considerably more robust electrical infrastructure. Geographically though it's more arid in the west, so this has prompted scrutiny of water-cooling and alternatives. They've seen a similar pattern in local water supply strains that are only increasing presently. In December of last year, China passed a law requiring these data centers to produce figures on their water consumption, and since those figures have started coming in, regulation is expected to follow while researchers at these facilities are exploring solutions.
So, China already recognizes this problem and is responding with water-efficiency standards, liquid cooling, reclaimed-water requirements and geographic planning. However, its push to move computing into the dry climates out west sort of creates a new water-management problem of its own. It will be interesting to see how cooling systems technologies will be advanced now and the potential implications it could have vis-à-vis quantum computing and the intense cooling requirements it currently demands… Now is maybe a good time to invest in this niche tech sector of processor chip cooling.
