Are We Feeding the Future But Starving the Planet?
As always, something I read, heard, or saw inspired me. See below…
We love to talk about how AI will transform everything... well, almost everything...
But there's something else that's boundless right now—the cost. I'm not referring to the software subscription or the talent arms race. I'm talking about the real cost... the kind that doesn't fit in a demo.
AI doesn't run on magic... It runs on infrastructure. And increasingly, that infrastructure is massive... and built in places where nature is equally massive.
Take Amazon's flagship data center in eastern Oregon... As Business Insider reported in June 2024:
A pair of Amazon facilities in Hermiston, Oregon, used 66.8 million gallons of water in 2023. In Mesa, Arizona, Meta struck an agreement allowing a facility to use up to 4 million gallons of water a day — enough for nearly 49,000 people, based on an Environmental Protection Agency estimate that Americans use 82 gallons a day.
Four million gallons per day.
This isn't a fringe example. Google, Microsoft, Meta... they're all building similar AI-ready campuses. Vast, air-conditioned fortresses that consume entire rivers' worth of water and each, enough energy to power a city.
A 2023 Reuters report found that Microsoft's AI data centers in Iowa more than doubled their water use between 2021 and 2023... from 0.5 billion gallons to over 1.2 billion gallons annually.
And as reported in The New York Times, June 24, 2025…my inspiration for today:
A year ago, a 1,200-acre stretch of farmland outside New Carlisle, Ind., was an empty cornfield. Now, seven Amazon data centers rise up from the rich soil, each larger than a football stadium. The facility will consume 2.2 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power a million homes. Each year, it will use millions of gallons of water to keep the chips from overheating. And it was built with a single customer in mind: the A.I. start-up Anthropic, which aims to create an A.I. system that matches the human brain. To bury the fiber optic cables connecting the buildings and to install other underground infrastructure, Amazon had to pump water out of the wet ground. One permit application showed that the company requested permission to pump 2.2 million gallons an hour, for 730 days. State officials are now investigating if the process, known as dewatering, is the reason some neighbors are reporting dry wells.
That’s not innovation... that’s extraction.
And look where many of these new AI campuses are sprouting up...
The AI we're building to simulate human intelligence may be undermining the natural intelligence of the planet itself. And before we write that off as the price of progress, let's ask: What are we progressing toward...?
Yes, AI might save the world...but if it kills all in its wake... is it really a win? Yes, AI might optimize healthcare...but if the grid crashes every summer due to data demand...are we actually healthier?
This isn't anti-tech. Luddites attacking the looms. It's pro-accountability… As my dear readers are aware, I am deeply committed to accountability.
To be clear... I'm not a tree hugger. And while I'm passionate about the planet, I take a rational approach.
Yes, AI is here. It's real, and it can help. AI can do remarkable things…
And as I wrote in a recent IMAGINE on creativity and efficiency... It's not that AI destroys creativity, but it forces us to ask a better question. It's not just about how we make something, but why it matters…
That same discipline belongs here, too, because no tech... no matter how advanced... should escape that same creative scrutiny. We can't just ask what AI gives us... We have to ask what it takes.
“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.” — Thomas Sowell
So, what are the trade-offs...?
→ Progress vs. preservation → Intelligence vs. instinct → Efficiency vs. empathy → Data scale vs. water scarcity → Speed vs. sustainability → Now vs. next
What’s your view...? What are we building...? And what are we willing to spend—planet included—to get there...?
.uRGENCY DESIGNS. c C
3moThere's no cost we fear change as usual becoming the norm I hate that things have changed I'm a classic derelict ii rock n roll
PHYGITAL Agency : The Direct Streaming of Media from Brand’s Products with Consumer Engagement | ZIPPYAR CEO | Revolutionizing Digital Marketing in Pharma, Retail, and CPG
3moDavid Sable thank you for speaking up on this issue. Technology For Good orchestrates the scaling of innovation to minimize its adversarial impact to people and our planet.
Legal Researcher | AI & Data Privacy Enthusiast | Exploring Law, Ethics & Digital Transformation in Africa
3moDavid, this is one perspective that’s being shadowed by the trillions in profit looming ahead in AI development. My niece was recently giving me a lecture about how much electricity ChatGPT uses to interact with me when prompted. It made me energy conscious and efficient because I made a vow to only use it when absolutely necessary. Our biodiversity and environment are just as important, even more so than profits. Awareness is vital
Thank you for presenting these insights and perspectives, David. Meta's agreement with Mesa, Arizona (I live in a neighboring town) is an especially perplexing one; we live in a desert. And we're in a draught. Natives and long-time residents know to conserve water. This will be interesting to see how it plays out. Thank you again for bringing this question to light.
Estratega en IA, Innovación y Crecimiento Empresarial | MBA en Transformación Digital | CEO en Provalia | Consultor en Ventas y Productividad con IA | Facilitador de Design Thinking para Equipos y Empresas
3moLoved this perspective, David Sable 🌎⚡ From Colombia, we watch the AI boom mostly as heavy users rather than builders no giant server farms here, yet we’ll still “pay the bill” in water and energy drawn elsewhere. So the trade-off question feels sharper: If we consume the benefits, what’s our share of the ecological tab? Carbon offsets? Renewable-energy clauses in our cloud contracts? Or should we channel some of those AI savings into local water-restoration projects? Curious to hear your take: 1️⃣ What would a fair compensation model look like for countries that import AI services? 2️⃣ Have you seen any cloud providers baking these cross-border responsibilities into their pricing—or is that still wishful thinking? Eager for the dialogue—thanks for spotlighting the hidden costs we all need to own. 🚀 #AIEthics #Sustainability #LatinAmerica