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In These Times

In These Times

This week on Working People, we talk to a data journalist about Mexico’s water crisis

In These Times
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In drought-stricken Mexico , a new concern arises: are the data centers supporting these technologies taking too much water from already struggling farmers? In this episode of Working People , we talked to Diana Baptista , a data journalist at the Thomson Reuters Foundation based in Mexico City .

She took us three hours outside Mexico City to see the price it takes for us to upload our photos and unread emails to the cloud.

Water usage in Mexico has spiked since introduction of AI products like ChatGPT.

Google 's data centers used 20 percent more water in 2022 than they did in 2021 .

Microsoft ’s water use rose by 34 percent in the same period.

Local activists are left in the dark about how this supposedly super efficient technology operates.

The Real News Network's Working People is reporting on data centers in Mexico .

Diana Baptista : The government wants tech companies to come to the country because we need more jobs, more investment.

But at what cost, the dwindling natural resources of the country? And where’s the accountability? For me, the most frustrating part is the lack of transparency.