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    Critics Say AI Water Report Has 100,000% Unit Error

    Posts accuse More Perfect Union report of unit mistake in water use claims.

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    13 Sources, 48d ago, first seen 48d ago

    TLDR

    Users on X posted that a More Perfect Union video overestimated AI data center water use by 100,000 percent after failing to distinguish metric volume units. They shared a clip of the El Paso Water CEO stating a large data center uses almost no water and is not a big deal. Separate posts mocked the report for focusing on desert farmers and noted it received a community note on its own thread.

    Combined views

    245.3K

    13 Sources, first seen 48d ago

    Combined views

    245.3K

    13 Sources, first seen 48d ago

    6.3K likes
    6.3K likes
    79 comments
    739 saves
    893 reposts

    Sentiment

    Positive——Negative

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    No sentiment analysis available yet.

    Featured Source
    79 comments
    739 saves
    893 reposts

    Sentiment

    Positive——Negative

    Summary

    Not enough discussion yet.

    No sentiment analysis available yet.

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    13 Sources

    @AndyMasleyThis video was one of the very worst MPU has done. It’s entirely focused on farmers in the desert feeling entitled to take as much water from the Colorado River as they’d like to farm in the very most arid place in the country with no competition at all with any industry that also uses water. Their first example is a pecan farmer who demonstrates how he dumps huge amounts of water into the ground and then implies that anyone who’s okay with data centers using water must “know how to eat computer chips” because “there won’t be any food left.” This guy thinks if he has to pay a little more for water to farm in a desert, it’s like saying we shouldn’t have food at all. The video frames him as a hero. They also bring up the offsite water cost of generating electricity as if it’s this secret data centers are hiding by not reporting it in their water use. For any other building that uses water, we usually only expect them to report their internal power and water cost and infer the water cost of the electricity from the power plants. This is all out in the open. They interview a county water manager who says the data center really isn’t an issue and only uses 0.4% of the local water, and then immediately cut to a local activist saying they can’t have enough for the data center because water costs have gone up. These are obviously unrelated, because as the video notes the city’s raised water rates every year for 11 years. I could go on and on, every moment is insane.
    @LoganDobsonThe most insane part of this video is when they interview THE CEO OF EL PASO WATER who says flatly that the very large data center uses almost no water and is not a big deal at all The video just glides right past this, despite it rebutting their entire point (ht @AndyMasley)
    @KeyTryerThis clip is so fucking funny you couldn't make this up "Yes, we're so concerned about water usage anyway here's a guy flooding a whole field with water to grow pecans in the desert"
    @kaneThese are the people that over-estimated data center water use by 100,000% (lol) bc they couldn't tell metric volume units apart. Bold of them to double down.
    @cremieuxrecueilHilarious attack on data centers The supposed victims are inefficient farmers whose argument is 'We should get the water, not anyone else!' Then, the only time MPU asked the local water authority about the issue, they were like 'There's no problem. The DCs barely use any water'
    @zacharynadoRT @KeyTryer: This clip is so fucking funny you couldn't make this up "Yes, we're so concerned about water usage anyway here's a guy flood…
    @sarthakghRT @AndyMasley: If the AI water issue were real, it'd be easy to go to people's homes that were actually directly affected by the normal op…
    @zachweinbergRT @kane: These are the people that over-estimated data center water use by 100,000% (lol) bc they couldn't tell metric volume units apart.…
    @peteskomorochRT @cremieuxrecueil: Hilarious attack on data centers The supposed victims are inefficient farmers whose argument is 'We should get the wa…

    13 Sources

    @AndyMasleyThis video was one of the very worst MPU has done. It’s entirely focused on farmers in the desert feeling entitled to take as much water from the Colorado River as they’d like to farm in the very most arid place in the country with no competition at all with any industry that also uses water. Their first example is a pecan farmer who demonstrates how he dumps huge amounts of water into the ground and then implies that anyone who’s okay with data centers using water must “know how to eat computer chips” because “there won’t be any food left.” This guy thinks if he has to pay a little more for water to farm in a desert, it’s like saying we shouldn’t have food at all. The video frames him as a hero. They also bring up the offsite water cost of generating electricity as if it’s this secret data centers are hiding by not reporting it in their water use. For any other building that uses water, we usually only expect them to report their internal power and water cost and infer the water cost of the electricity from the power plants. This is all out in the open. They interview a county water manager who says the data center really isn’t an issue and only uses 0.4% of the local water, and then immediately cut to a local activist saying they can’t have enough for the data center because water costs have gone up. These are obviously unrelated, because as the video notes the city’s raised water rates every year for 11 years. I could go on and on, every moment is insane.
    @LoganDobsonThe most insane part of this video is when they interview THE CEO OF EL PASO WATER who says flatly that the very large data center uses almost no water and is not a big deal at all The video just glides right past this, despite it rebutting their entire point (ht @AndyMasley)
    @KeyTryerThis clip is so fucking funny you couldn't make this up "Yes, we're so concerned about water usage anyway here's a guy flooding a whole field with water to grow pecans in the desert"
    @kaneThese are the people that over-estimated data center water use by 100,000% (lol) bc they couldn't tell metric volume units apart. Bold of them to double down.
    @cremieuxrecueilHilarious attack on data centers The supposed victims are inefficient farmers whose argument is 'We should get the water, not anyone else!' Then, the only time MPU asked the local water authority about the issue, they were like 'There's no problem. The DCs barely use any water'
    @zacharynadoRT @KeyTryer: This clip is so fucking funny you couldn't make this up "Yes, we're so concerned about water usage anyway here's a guy flood…
    @sarthakghRT @AndyMasley: If the AI water issue were real, it'd be easy to go to people's homes that were actually directly affected by the normal op…
    @zachweinbergRT @kane: These are the people that over-estimated data center water use by 100,000% (lol) bc they couldn't tell metric volume units apart.…
    @peteskomorochRT @cremieuxrecueil: Hilarious attack on data centers The supposed victims are inefficient farmers whose argument is 'We should get the wa…