It depends. Though water consumption by data centers pales in comparison to that of some other industries, it’s a problem in water-stressed regions. Water-saving cooling technologies could help.
Similar stories
1 outlet
How much of a problem is AI’s water use?
arstechnica.com
27.08.2026
Related stories
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/4e/fa/4efac03c-3159-4806-a62b-ba0d7c8983c9/freddie_mercury_in_the_made_in_heaven_music_video_photography-c1235d274eed03e52067a783a801eb2b.jpeg)
Freddie Mercury's Boundary-Pushing Costumes Take Center Stage at the Victoria and Albert Museum to Mark the 80th Anniversary of His Birth
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/f8/c6/f8c6c426-628a-4133-beac-bc8e5dce1071/coolidge2.png)
This American Commando Parachuted Behind Enemy Lines in Both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II
The Download: inside OpenAI’s Hugging Face hack, and a new EV takes on the US
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/d2/a4/d2a4a5b3-aa84-4c59-933c-2965aa312980/img_7337.jpeg)
Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatures
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/8e/83/8e837bc6-e2b3-4bb6-bb1c-4f1287b45a6f/castillo-39-rincon_de_los_signos.jpg)
The Prehistoric Paintings on the Walls of Caves Have Always Been Moving. But With the Right Kind of Light, Some Actually Seem to Move
Is Slate Auto’s new electric truck the EV Americans need?