Limitless Podcast The AI Water Use Controversy: How It's Completely Misunderstood
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Jan 21, 2026 Dive into the surprising truths behind AI's water usage! The hosts tackle the myth that data centers drain water supplies, comparing the consumption of Colossus 2 to just two In-N-Out locations. They unpack the flawed statistic claiming 1.7 trillion gallons by 2027 and explain cooling processes, shedding light on actual water consumption numbers. Localized impacts are discussed alongside innovative commitments from tech giants. Spoiler: the fears surrounding AI's water usage are largely exaggerated!
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AI Water Panic Is Overblown
- Headlines claiming AI is 'draining our water supply' are massively exaggerated and misleading.
- Colossus 2's annual water footprint (~346 million gallons) equals about two and a half In-N-Out stores, not catastrophic depletion.
Burgers Beat Clickbait For Scale
- Semi Analysis compared Colossus 2's water use to In-N-Out burgers to illustrate scale.
- They calculated one burger (~245 gallons) equals billions of AI output tokens, producing a memorable tokens-per-burger metric.
Cooling Is Mostly Closed-Loop
- Data centers mainly use water for cooling via dry or adiabatic systems, with most water recycled.
- Roughly 90% is recycled today and companies aim to push renewability higher by 2030.
