Readers have voiced strong concerns about the environmental impact of AI datacentres, following an article about Erin Brockovich's battle against them. In letters to the Guardian, correspondents highlight the immense water and electricity consumption of these facilities and question the benefits of AI.
AI's Top Uses Questioned
Tim Root of London argues that the benefits of AI are not worth the environmental cost. He cites analysis showing the top four uses of AI are therapy/companionship, technical assistance, fun and nonsense, and fan fiction. He notes that AI use for therapy does not appear to reduce loneliness and may even reduce social skills and critical thinking in students.
Root calls for electricity pricing that reflects emissions, applying a 'polluter pays' principle to make non-essential AI prohibitively expensive until clean renewables replace fossil fuels. He states that carbon emissions must be much lower to avoid climate devastation such as heatwave deaths and food shortages.
Water Bankruptcy Warning
Woody Caan of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, warns that life cannot survive without water for agriculture, drinking, and sanitation. He introduces the concept of 'water bankruptcy', where extraction exceeds replenishment. Giant datacentres built by billionaires for AI extract immense quantities of water for cooling. In many places, this puts agriculture, drinking, and sanitation in competition with datacentres. Caan urges regulations and legislation to protect all stakeholders, as distant investors are unlikely to care about local human needs.
AI Investment Bubble Concerns
Joel Bolonick of Oakland, California, argues that the datacentre construction boom is a detrimental effect of a likely AI investment bubble. He notes that the sums spent are disproportionate to realistic profit estimates, and many datacentres may eventually be abandoned, becoming industrial wastelands similar to 'rust belt' industries in the US.
The letters reflect growing unease about the environmental and social costs of AI expansion, with readers calling for urgent regulatory action to protect water resources and reduce emissions.
