The cloud was humming along just fine. Then AI walked in.
In part two, Aicila and John dig into why AI data centers are a fundamentally different beast from the cloud infrastructure we've been using for decades — and why the timing couldn't be worse. More power, more water, more heat, less accountability, and a deregulatory environment that's removing the guardrails just as the stakes get higher.
In this episode:
The BiCurean thread: The technology could be built sustainably. The problem isn't capability — it's who's building it, how fast, and with whose money.
Next episode: What's actually being done, and what you can do.
Resources
AI and water
Not just use- also cooling and contamination
https://undark.org/2025/12/16/ai-data-centers-water/
https://mostpolicyinitiative.org/science-note/data-center-water-use/
Innovative ways to use data center energy-
World Resource
https://www.wri.org/insights/us-data-center-growth-impacts
Politico-
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/26/ai-data-centers-georgia-midterms-00888668
AI data Centers- Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/ai-data-centers-energy-demands/686064/
Living in Hell- data center neighbors grapple with noise, air pollution
Delivering an Open Data Center Ecosystem for AI
Server Racks / Data center
ChatGPT4 data sizes
https://seifeur.com/gpt-4-model-size/
ChatGPT Model Version History:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT#Model_versions
OpenAI revenue growth, still operating at a loss:
https://www.ainvest.com/news/openai-explosive-revenue-growth-implications-ai-ecosystem-2507/
Other AI Revenue (DO NOT SHOW ON AIR- COPYRIGHTED)
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charted-the-soaring-revenues-of-ai-companies-2023-2025/
Sustainable Cloud Computing companies:
https://sustainabilitymag.com/top10/top-10-sustainable-cloud-companies
The Green Grid (Industry coalition for green computing):
https://www.thegreengrid.org/
Different states pursuing laws and regulations:
https://www.afslaw.com/perspectives/alerts/state-regulation-data-centers-2026-shifting-landscape
Harvard Kennedy School / Belfer Center paper on AI, Data Centers, and the U.S. Electric Grid: AWatershed Moment
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