Is Underwater AI Any Cleaner?

Sep 26, 2024

The podcast dives into the fascinating world of underwater data centers and their environmental ramifications. It highlights the energy-intensive nature of generative AI and how cooling technologies could help mitigate these effects. The conversation raises questions about sustainability and the accountability of tech giants like Google and Microsoft. Additionally, it touches on the need for careful oversight to avoid negative ecological impacts as AI technology continues to evolve. The hosts also reflect on the balance of innovation with environmental responsibility.

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ANECDOTE

Underwater Data Center Test

Network Ocean, a startup, planned to test an underwater data center in San Francisco Bay.
Experts worried about the heat impacting marine life, and the company lacked a permit.

ANECDOTE

Microsoft's Underwater Data Center Tests

Microsoft tested underwater data centers a decade ago off California and Scotland.
They found the idea practical but haven't deployed any, also facing permit issues in California.

INSIGHT

Emissions Reduction

Dunking data centers cools them with water, reducing energy use and potentially emissions.
This method aims to lessen reliance on evaporative cooling, a major environmental concern.

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AI data centers are so hot right now. Each time generative AI services churn through their large language models to make a chatbot answer one of your questions, it takes a great deal of processing power to sift through all that data. Doing so can use massive amounts of energy, which means the proliferation of AI is raising questions about how sustainable this tech actually is and how it affects the ecosystems around it. Some companies think they have a solution: running those data centers underwater, where they can use the surrounding seawater to cool and better control the temperature of the hard working GPUs inside. But it turns out just plopping something into the ocean isn't always a foolproof plan for reducing its environmental impact.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED writers Paresh Dave and Reece Rogers join the show to talk about their reporting on undersea data centers and how the race to power AI systems is taking its toll on the environment.

Show Notes:
Read Paresh and Reece’s story about the plan to put an underwater data center in the San Francisco Bay. Read Reece’s stories about how this is AI’s hyper-consumption era and how to wade through all the AI hype. Read Lauren’s story about the social network inhabited only by bots. Read Karen Hao’s story in The Atlantic about how companies like Microsoft are taking water from the desert to use for cooling down AI data centers. Here’s the Black Cat substack article about the character Harper from Industry. Follow all of WIRED’s AI and climate coverage.

Recommendations:
Paresh recommends checking out cookbooks from your local library. Reece recommends the soundtrack of the first Twilight movie for all your Fall feels. Lauren recommends the HBO show Industry. Mike recommends Anna Weiner’s profile of bicycle designer Grant Peterson in The New Yorker.

Reece Rogers can be found on social media @thiccreese. Paresh Dave is @peard33. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight@heads.social. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

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