DATA CENTERS
Pee on computers, save humanity?
Artificial intelligence. It brings up a multitude of philosophical questions:
Can a machine truly think?
Will AI ever experience emotions?
Is it possible to cool data centers with our pee?
ICYMI, Liquid Death and Jason Kelce came together for a ballad-style music video with an inspiring message: “Let’s pee on computers together to save humanity!”
The cheeky marketing campaign riffed on recent data-center drama surrounding AI’s massive water demand. But along the way, it sparked a real conversation about whether sewage could be big tech’s next sustainability tool. Turns out, it can.
How wastewater cooling works:
Unfortunately, mineral deposits from raw urine clog the cooling towers. So that doesn’t work on its own.
Using membrane bioreactors, reverse osmosis, and UV light, treatment plants can convert sewage into an industrial coolant.
This recycled water is safe enough to use for mass cooling… and even, drinking 😳
The reality check
Take Loudoun County as an example. Located outside of Washington, DC, it’s home to 250+ data centers, which use about 200 million gallons of recycled sewage water a day.
Sounds impressive. Except, that only accounts for 43% of the county’s needs. The remaining 260 million gallons are still sourced from the local tap-water supply. That means AI’s water problem is less about urine and more about building the pipes, plants, and treatment capacity to make recycling work at scale.
So the potential is there, but we still have a long way to go.
Even still, ‘peeing for humanity’ is an oddly compelling pitch.
In case you needed one more reason to stay hydrated this summer. - TL