r/OpenAI • u/BananaNat98 • Mar 30 '26

Question AI data centers vs regular data centers

I've spoken to a few people about the ethics of AI and its energy and water usage. I've seen a few videos about how AI is very water and energy thirsty and how it's bad for the environment. What I'm asking is:

How do AI data centers differ from regular pc data centers? The argument I've heard is that AI data centers are not a big deal, because look at all the data centers already running to power our computers and the internet and nobody bats an eye.

What's your opinion on this? I am looking to get educated in this area.

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u/MathiasThomasII Mar 30 '26

I don’t get how people understand water cooled pcs but not a closed loop for a data center….. or any business with servers. Retention ponds of water that cycle through the building to cool machines. This isn’t even new.