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A new report from the think tank Ceres is raising serious questions about the hidden cost of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Data centers in just seven American states are withdrawing an estimated three point four trillion gallons of freshwater annually to power their operations — more than all of California's cities combined. Researchers note the figure counts hydropower withdrawals that return to rivers, but even adjusted downward, the scale is striking, especially since two thirds of those power plants sit in already water-stressed regions.
Meanwhile, the AI story extends well beyond water. Google is expanding its contrail mitigation program to Asia, partnering with Cathay Pacific to test AI-guided flight adjustments over the Pacific. By nudging aircraft to slightly different altitudes to avoid cold, humid air, early trials cut the climate impact of contrails by forty percent. That matters because contrails alone account for roughly a third of aviation's total warming effect.
And on the ground, a new Intel report suggests robotic co-workers are closer than many realize. Sixty percent of business leaders say they expect to operate robot fleets within five years, yet fewer than half have any actual strategy for managing a mixed human-robot workforce. The ambition, it seems, is running well ahead of the planning.
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