Unless you were living on another planet in late June, you were exposed to a viral hoax about Jeff Bezos and the water required for LLM data centers.[1]

I would rather dive headfirst into a swimming pool full of double-edged razor blades than offer Jeff Bezos the benefit of the doubt, but he has said nothing (publicly) about LLM data centers and water. He may believe water for LLM data centers is more important than for people, but he hasn’t said it out loud.

One interesting commentary (apparently written before it was clear the story was fake) suggested context would be in order. Here’s a deep dive on the issue of LLM data center usage from a company that tests water samples.

I am offering a 50,000 foot view of this issue, demonstrating why America can’t get its head around it.

The President of Microsoft said data centers use about the same amount of water as a restaurant. There are two things he didn’t say: what size data center and what size restaurant. He did, admittedly, say that new data centers would use less, but that distinction could easily be missed. He said nothing about all of Microsoft’s existing water-sucking data centers. Closed loop LLM data center cooling will someday result in minimal draws of water. Someday. We don’t live in someday, we live in now.

The industry is right when it says data centers use a tiny fraction of water nationally, compared to agriculture and a lot of other industries.

But the people of Gilroy, Calif., for example, don’t live in the world; they live in Gilroy. Same for lots of other people living in water-stressed areas where data centers are going up. In those areas, LLM usage can have a huge impact; the same as suddenly dropping a city of 100,000 into an area that is already water-challenged.

Since this issue can’t easily be understood during the time it takes to watch any single episode of any flavor of Law and Order, most people aren’t going to bother. Their “opinion” will be based on the opinion of their favorite Facebook page, TikTok influencer, Instagram news source or blogger. Or someone they know whose opinion they respect. Or, once in a blue moon a politician, newspaper or foundation that has gone to the trouble of analyzing and balancing the facts, in context, putting humans first.

Well, since this is the way 99% of Americans decide how to vote, I guess the system can’t be all bad; look at the results of recent elections.

[1] Creating a viral hoax on the Internet is easy. The best ones involve quotes attributed to an actual person on an actual date, at an actual event. Since people are too lazy to research, these elements lend sufficient believability to fool most people, especially if it sounds like something the person would say. “A lie is halfway round the world before the truth has got its boots on,” the ancient poet Virgil almost said.