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Briefings and ideas about Data-center cooling from AI podcast discussions and the research they cite, with links to the original sources.
Investor Chamath Palihapitiya argued that AGI exists but can't spread until power and data centers are built, and predicted a compute shortage within three or four years. Alex Wissner-Gross countered that demand and smaller models matter too.
The viral figure of 627 million gallons a day for data-center water matches Berkeley Lab's 2023 national estimate, but most is consumed at power plants and it can't show what one proposed site would draw locally.
Economist Steve Keen argued that the sheer cost of frontier AI and the physical resources it needs may be what slows the race, and forecast that the one company left standing will be Chinese rather than American.
Ramez Naam estimates space-based AI could compete on cost if launch prices fall to a quarter to a tenth of current levels, a rough guess. He says building and launching enough hardware, with permits and reliability, is a separate hurdle.
Ramez Naam passed on Panthalassa's early Bitcoin pitch but has since invested in its wave-powered, seawater-cooled ocean AI computers. Its 2-cent/kWh power cost is a target; northern-Pacific pilots are planned for 2026.
Towns hosting AI data centers should negotiate for cheaper power and school funding, a Moonshots panel argued; one panelist proposed “universal basic electricity” but gave no terms. Meta says its investments enabled teacher bonuses.