3 ms·

You know what uses roughly 80 times more water in the US alone than water used by AI data centers world wide? Corn.

• raddan 10mo ago
  Assuming your fact is true, that corn merely uses an order of magnitude or two more water than AI is surprising, given the utility of corn. It feeds the entire US (hundreds of millions of people), is used as animal feed (thus also feeding us), and is widely exported to feed other people. I the spirit of the “I think”s and “I believe”s of this blog post, I think that corn has a lot more utility than AI.
  • Hendrikto 10mo ago
    > It feeds the entire US (hundreds of millions of people), is used as animal feed (thus also feeding us), and is widely exported to feed other people. Not really. Most corn grown in the US isn’t even fit for consumption. It is primarily used for fermenting bioethanol.
    • daveguy 10mo ago
      Source?
      • Hendrikto 10mo ago
        https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feed-grains/feed-grains-sector-at-a-glance https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feed-gr...
        • raddan 10mo ago
          The report you link says that 45% is used for ethanol. A lot, but not “most.”
          • Hendrikto 10mo ago
            I could have worded that more clearly: The vast majority (90%+) of corn grown in the US is not for human consumption, with most of that 90% being used for bioethanol.