Sam Altman defends AI resource usage: Water concerns 'fake,' and 'humans use energy too'
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/23/openai-altman-defends-ai-resource-usage-water-concerns-fake-humans-use-energy-summit.html
25 points · 7 comments · view on lemmy.world
7 Comments
Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 9 pts · 172d
Sammy boy, that argument doesn't hold up for 10 seconds under any actual scrutiny. Yes, humans use energy too.
Your datacenters are using a shitload more energy than they are hypothetically replacing in human work
Even if it was a 1 to 1 replacement of human energy to AI energy expenditure, people don't eat electricity. We, in fact, have two entirely different sets of infrastructure for food vs electricity. If you just dump a bunch of extra load into one of the systems randomly, it's going to cause issues.
Fuck Altman and this shitty attempt at covering for his bad product.
xyro@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 172d
Will someone think about the AI ?
Steve@startrek.website · 3 pts · 172d
AI deserves hooman rights too!
brian@lemmy.ca · -5 pts · 172d
I don't truly understand the water concerns that a lot of people talk about. like unless these centers are pulling water from the mains, letting it flow through their system once, then dumping it; I don't get how they would be using such astronomical amounts as people claim
Luccus@feddit.org · 10 pts · 172d
It's evaporative cooling. Basically they are dumping it; into the atmosphere.
brian@lemmy.ca · -3 pts · 172d
interesting, I suppose that would've been an easy thing for me to look up. but I'll continue with my line of thinking for right now; surely there are equally effective ways, other than evaporative, that could be used.
I recognize the vast difference, but there are plenty of "conventional" cooling methods that could be applied in some manner (radiators being the first to come to mind), without being absurdly cost-ineffective
Luccus@feddit.org · 3 pts · 171d
That's correct.
Too bad.