Researchers fear undersea data centers may harm animals.
Generative AI appears futile and wasteful. Even though its products consume massive amounts of electricity and data (with many stealing it), the industry churns out reams of half-correct or completely incorrect information, racist memes, problematic porn, and other auto-generated content that flood the internet, making many websites unpleasant to use.
AI’s energy footprint is a major issue. To cool generative AI server farms, massive volumes of fresh water are needed. A Bay Area firm claims to have solved AI’s energy problems, according to Wired. That idea is to submerge enormous server farms into the San Francisco bay, which will remove data center cooling and save operational costs. NetworkOcean claims its aquatic technologies may save AI firm operational expenses by 25%. Microsoft has tried them and China is employing them.
Data center construction costs $10-20 million per MW of electricity. This cost is two-thirds land, construction, and cooling infrastructure. The firm writes on its blog that GW facilities cost $10-20 billion before buying servers or switches.
The business plans to test its giant metal capsule-protected underwater server farm in the coming weeks.
The only issue is that NetworkOcean’s next test may be flawed. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board told Wired that they had contacted NetworkOcean to ask if it had the permits to test its little experiment. The company’s co-founder, Sam Mendel, says the test will take place in a “privately owned and operated portion of the bay,” avoiding governmental oversight.
Wired interviewed researchers who warned that undersea data centers might disrupt local fauna and cause harmful algal blooms. “Just because these centers would be out of sight does not mean they are not a major disturbance,” said pollution expert Jon Rosenfield of San Francisco Baykeeper.
If utilizing less water to cool servers is tempting, scaling it to Silicon Valley’s demands is not. Human trash is already in the water. Adding a few thousand server farms alongside everything else seems unnecessary.
CREDIT: Allneeds, GIZMODO
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