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AI’s Thirsty Ghost

We talk about AI like it’s weightless. “Just in the cloud.”“Running in the background.”“Ask the model, it’s basically free.” But behind every “free” AI answer is a very physical, very thirsty machine. Racks of hot chips. Fans and pipes. Cooling towers dumping heat into the air and water into the sky. And all of that is sitting on a planet that is already heading toward a massive freshwater shortfall by the end of this decade, with experts warning that global freshwater demand could exceed sustainable supply by around 40% by 2030. In this piece I want to do three things: Show how AI’s water footprint fits into the wider global water crisis. Explain why cooling + climate change is a double bind we can’t ignore. Make the case that, long-term, we should treat Earth as a residential zone and push heavy computation and industrial infrastructure off-world. It’s a big claim. But if you accept that water is non-negotiable for life, the conclusion starts to feel less sci-fi and more like basic zoning law for a planetary civilisation.

Consciousness as an Evolutionary Filter: Memory, Identity, and Big-Goal Agency

Abstract We propose that consciousness evolved primarily as a filter-and-focus mechanism that compresses and routes overwhelming multi-modal inputs toward survival-relevant, big-goal control. Memory binds these filtered states into identity, and identity enables agency—the capacity to project, plan, and intervene in the world (including via tools). We show how this thesis aligns with elements of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) while contrasting it with rival frameworks—Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW), Recurrent Processing Theory (RPT), and Higher-Order/Perceptual Reality Monitoring (HOT/PRM)—and outline empirical discriminators.

The Cycle of Objects: Life, Death, and the Limits of Understanding

Everything we interact with—whether physical or conceptual—follows a natural cycle: it comes into existence, evolves, and eventually ceases to be relevant. This cycle applies to everything from physical objects to ideas, scientific models, and technological frameworks. Objects do not exist in isolation—they are often embedded within other objects, much like Russian nesting dolls, where each layer contains and depends on the one before it (Minsky, 1986). This layered nature of objects influences how we perceive and interact with reality. Our sensory experience is inherently limited, revealing only surface interactions rather than the true essence of things. Just as a video game’s physics system operates based on complex code that looks nothing like what appears on the screen, reality itself may be governed by deeper structures that are inaccessible to direct observation. What we see and touch is merely an interface for a much more mysteriously hidden system (Turing, 1936).

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AI’s Thirsty Ghost

Consciousness as an Evolutionary Filter: Memory, Identity, and Big-Goal Agency

The Cycle of Objects: Life, Death, and the Limits of Understanding