Alt Text: The cartoon illustrates the problem of water use in the AI age: a farmer’s child and his mother are pumping a little water from a well for their daily use. Two knights in armor, transporting a large, spherical water container on wheels, come by and say, “The King wishes to make more avatars of himself as a Ghibli character.”
In the background, a castle sits enthroned on a hill. The cartoon illustrates the excessive water consumption required for AI model queries.
Sure thing.
“Proton VPN is operated by Proton AG, which values transparency and sustainability. Its unlimited data means fewer interruptions and wasteful reconnections” - Green City Times
https://www.greencitytimes.com/the-best-free-vpn-for-eco-conscious-users/
Not to mention that Proton is mainly based in Switzerland. According to their website, their data centers are housed in former military bases.
“Our critical infrastructure, like our Secure Core VPN servers, is housed in secure data centers or on former military bases. Using these locations prevents anyone from being able to tamper with our servers.” - Proton’s own website
https://protonvpn.com/features/physical-security
They also offer their services for free rather than pushing users towards paid tiers. Unlimited data on every tier. Not something you see very often these days.
Not to mention that Proton has been autited before and all of their claims regarding how they operate have held up in court.
And considering Proton’s reputation of Customer > Profit, it’s not exactly surprising that their methods are ethical. For years they have been one of the few internet companies who don’t harvest your data and prioritize money.
I know that Proton isn’t an AI company because I have been using their services for years. Long before this AI bubble was ever a thing. They only released Lumo last year.
Proceeds to not give a single source supporting original claims.
I’m confused. I originally stated that Proton uses renewable green energy. Then I cited a source stating that the company values sustainability and their unlimited data means fewer wasteful reconnections. What more do you want? Want me to fly you out to Geneva so that you can see it for yourself?
I see you are confused. Let me help you. Here is your original claim:
Okay, fine:
“Oracle is committed to helping communities understand the impact of its new AI data centers, starting with details on how our cooling works and what that means for local water. In short, at our AI infrastructure data centers—including upcoming ones in New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin—we plan to deploy a variety of cooling methods like closed-loop cooling that do not rely on continuous consumption of potable water. These are deliberate engineering decisions designed with local communities in mind.”
“A third approach is what many of us have in our homes, particularly in warmer climates; air conditioning. An air conditioner is a closed-loop system, because the cooling fluid inside it circulates in a sealed loop and is reused. Data centers can use the same basic idea at larger scale.”
Source - https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/blog/closed-loop-cooling-in-oracle-ai-data-centers-2026-02-09/
They “plan to do it”. They are not doing it. Try again.
Also, it’s oracle, their word means nothing. Them “planning” is just either “tell them we’re gonna do it and just don’t do it” or “we have to have an alternative plan in case the government grows some balls and regulates us”.
It’s a growing trend in the AI industry through.
Consider this:
IF, Oracle follows through with that plan, other AI companies feel the pressure. If Oracle follows through with it, AWS, Azure, Google, and Meta look worse if they aren’t disclosing or doing the same. OpenAI (which uses Azure) and Anthropic will also be dragged into that spotlight.
If Oracle says:
“We’re not using your drinking water”
then lawmakers and residents in other regions will demand local data centers do the same.
AI infrastructure is insanely power and cooling hungry, and with growing backlash over water and energy use, companies can’t afford to be sloppy.
I see you got confused again. Let me display your original statement:
You already said that and I already responded.
Read my other comment.
It’s a disingenuous answer.
Why can’t you cite OpenAI or any other major players?
Because OpenAI have never disclosed what kind of cooling they use. They’re a bad example and do not support the point I was making.
Not to mention that a lot of articles regarding OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are heavily biased. Look up “OpenAI Energy Consumption” and you’ll see several articles from different authors with titles using the same keywords. It reeks of SEO Spam. Not very helpful when you’re looking for a reliable source.
You mean one of the main big AI companies? The ones you claimed use closed loop in your initial comment with no sources to back it up?
Maybe don’t make unverifiable claims, yeah?
I’m sorry. I don’t believe I explicitly mentioned OpenAI in my original comment. Now you’re just putting words in my mouth.
So you used one example from a company who is primarily not an AI company and doesn’t have data centers in the US, where the majority of water-consuming, community-destroying data centers are? Nor any other country where AI companies are exploiting their labor?
Whose supply are you high on and how much are they paying you?
Who said anything about the U.S? The discussion is about AI data centers using water which is harmful for the environment. I used Proton as an example because while they aren’t primarily an AI company, they are very eco friendly, and they happen to run their own generative AI service.
Nobody specified that this is a region-specific issue. You brought it up, so don’t make me look like the idiot.
You’re cherry picking and I think you’re aware of that, given you only use Proton as an example.
What they’re claiming isn’t false and it’s a good reflection of what’s happening globally.
Don’t be ridiculous. Who trained your model?
“Don’t be ridiculous. Who trained your model?”
I don’t entertain conversations where i’m being talked down to. If you want to try again with respect, let me know. Otherwise, we’re done here.
respect is reciprocal and demands honest dialogue between people.
you ignored that requirement when you specifically attempted to move the goal from “AI data centers” to just “data centers”. you didn’t stop there either, you then attempted to gaslight everyone into thinking that this was acceptable. surprise, it’s not.
you get what you give, and you gave bullshit. time to settle your tab and eat your bullshit.