Why don't they build data centers where it's really cold, for example north of Canada, and just pipe outside air in?
If you train an AI, you don't need low latency/high bandwidth Internet access.
If you train an AI, you don't need low latency/high bandwidth Internet access.
Part of the problem is consistent humidity management, but the other is that air, even really cold air, isn't dense enough to move specific heat as effectively as the same volume of a denser working fluid.
For a practical example in the other direction, look at combined cycle gas turbines which use heated air for the primary turbine and the recapture as much denser steam for the secondary.
In any case, I think you'd still need substantial cooling infrastructure to deal with the summer. Your capital costs are going to waaaay higher. While your thermal management costs will go down, your payroll will probably be higher.
Sea water is corrosive, hard to use for cooling.