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News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
AI's next crisis isn't electricity or even sentience, it's something far more essential to both humans and machines
In Frank Herbert's best-selling novel Dune, a peculiar and dystopian premise was put to the world. What if water became so scarce that it turned into a currency, culture, and religion? A planet where the super-rich schemed to control the most crucial finite resource known to man. Similar themes were touched on in Mad Max, and we all know how grim that depiction of Australia looked. Unfortunately, art really does imitate life in some cases. About 25 per cent of countries on Earth face chronic water scarcity – and that's just drinking water. But now, the world's most influential tech figures are in a bind over exactly how to source enough just to keep their AI servers afloat. Nobody expected that we'd be having this conversation a few short years into the AI boom, but Europe is steaming towards an ugly crossroad. With record heatwaves, raging wildfires, and prolonged droughts sweeping across the continent, the crisis no longer lies in the skies or on the ground. The problem is in the digital cloud, and specifically, how to keep that cloud from overheating. While millions around the world sit glued to their screens incessantly using artificial intelligence for everyday tasks, AI data centres have developed their own enormous addictions. According to experts from leading data and analytics firm GlobalData, the issue of water scarcity has now outstripped skyrocketing electricity demands. 'Climate change has produced weather patterns from wildfires to flash floods that are becoming more extreme worldwide,' Robert Pritchard, Principal Analyst at GlobalData, says. 'Superheated ground results in less rain getting absorbed into aquifers and instead running over dry soil, often destroying lives and livelihoods. 'Climate change also means that the requirement for water to cool the ever-expanding base of data centres is likely to become an issue that needs addressing.' It gets a bit wild once you start crunching the numbers. A 2023 OECD study estimated that AI systems will consume between 4.2 and 6.6 billion cubic metres of water per year by 2027. That's more than the annual water use of Denmark, or nearly half the entire United Kingdom. Most of it is used to cool high-performance computing clusters powering large language models. But as models grow larger and demand scale ups, so does the drain on freshwater supplies. With tensions mounting, some cities have actually started pushing back. Singapore and Dublin have already paused or blocked new data centre construction over fears that water and energy systems were becoming dangerously strained. 'Data centre providers are using technology innovations to try to address the energy demands of their growth, particularly given the explosion of artificial intelligence,' Mr Pritchard said. While alternatives like air cooling or immersion systems exist, water remains the industry's most cost-effective and reliable solution. 'As with most things in tech, solutions will be found for the emerging challenges. The problem, however, is that any solutions must be set within the context of climate change and the immediate impact it is having on citizens' lives,' Mr Pritchard continued. 'It is a political issue and a social issue, not just a technology issue.' I know what you're thinking. Why not seawater? Unfortunately, the issue isn't as simple as scooping out a few litres from the Pacific every year. Seawater just isn't practical for cooling data centres because it's highly corrosive and requires extensive treatment before it can be used safely. Salt content can damage pipes, heat exchangers, and other infrastructure, leading to higher maintenance costs and reliability risks. Even when used indirectly, it still needs to be filtered, desalinated, or chemically treated to avoid corrosion, scaling, and biofouling. In short, the process of treating seawater for cooling use is just too costly. And unlike electricity, which can at least be temporarily backed up with generators, freshwater has no substitute. 'There is no water equivalent of carbon credits to hide behind, obfuscation tactics that have often saved blushes among greenwashers,' Mr Pritchard said. 'On top of that is the potential threat of terrorist attacks on critical water infrastructure, which looks like far more of an important issue.' The problem is humanity's crippling addiction to technological progress and automation isn't going to stop any time soon. The data centres will continue to be built and more GPT updates will be coming in hot. Too hot, evidently. Welcome to Arrakis, folks.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Canberra Symphony Orchestra says it could fold if ANU axes music school
The Canberra Symphony Orchestra warns it could one day not have enough musicians to perform if proposed changes to the Australian National University go ahead.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Opera about ancient king Gilgamesh crowned winner at the 2025 Art Music Awards
One of Australia's newest operas, Gilgamesh, has been crowned the biggest winner of the 2025 Art Music Awards in a ceremony held in Sydney last night. Other winners include former ABC Classic presenter and producer Stephen Adams, jazz outfit Koi Kingdom featuring saxophonist Cheryl Durongpisitkul, and performers including Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Australia, the Australian String Quartet and Ensemble Offspring. The awards recognise the achievements of composers and performers of contemporary classical music, jazz, improvisation, electronic sound arts and experimental practices. Based on an ancient Sumerian epic, Gilgamesh tells the story of a tyrant king who learns the meaning of wisdom through friendship, love and loss during the course of the opera. Premiered in 2024, it is the first time the epic of Gilgamesh has been performed as an English language opera, with text written by well-known librettist Louis Garrick. Gilgamesh's composer, Jack Symonds, received two awards: Work of the Year: Dramatic for Gilgamesh, and the NSW State Luminary Award for his outstanding contributions to contemporary Australian opera. Gilgamesh also earned Sydney Chamber Opera, Opera Australia, the Australian String Quartet and Ensemble Offspring the award for Performance of the Year: Notated Composition. Former ABC Classic producer Stephen Adams, long-time curator of Australian music for the network, has been recognised with a National Luminary Award for his outstanding contribution and dedication to Australian music. Women composers continue to make a strong impact in the Australian art community. Anne Cawrse, Cathy Milliken and Kate Milligan won Work of the Year awards for Choral Composition, Chamber Music and Electroacoustic/Sound Art respectively. Melbourne-based Jazz musician Cheryl Durongpisitkul was part of the award-winning trio Koi Kingdom for Work of the Year: Jazz. Chloe Kim's composition, titled Music for Six Double Bassists, won Performance of the Year: Jazz/Improvised Music category. Art music visionaries, Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor, were honoured with the prestigious Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music for their boundary-pushing work and sonic exploration. Rose and Taylor have frequently collaborated on innovative projects including Great Fences of Australia, which maps the acoustic qualities of 35,000 kilometres of fence lines across the Australian outback. The ceremony, organised by the Australian Music Centre and APRA AMCOS, was held at Sydney's City Recital Hall. ABC Classic Drive presenter Vanessa Hughes hosted with guest presenters Nardi Simpson and Hamed Sadeghi, and music curation by Sia Ahmad. Three Excellence Awards were given out to projects that illuminate the importance of cross-cultural collaboration and artistic practice in contemporary Australian art music. Musica Viva Australia received this year's Award for Excellence in Music Education for its Accessible Music Education Program. Finalists: Leading arts and social change organisation, Big hART, won the Award for Excellence in a Regional Area for Tjaabi: Flood Country — 2024 Regional Tour. Finalists: Multi-award winner Aviva Endean took out the Award for Excellence in Experimental Practice for her work: The Breath Becomes The Wind. Finalists: The annual Luminary Awards are presented to those who have made a sustained impact on musical communities through their leadership, artistic practice and the championing of Australian repertoire. Former ABC Classic curator of Australian music Stephen Adams was recognised with the Luminary Award: National Individual for his outstanding contribution and dedication to Australian music as a broadcaster, producer, composer and advocate. Decibel New Music received the Luminary Award: National Organisation for its program of concerts, releases, tours and publications. The following Luminary Awards were also presented to individuals and organisations who have made significant contributions to the music community in their local state or territory.
