A new beer commercial is capitalizing on the AI data center backlash by proposing a novel way to cool the giant computing facilities: Why not use human urine?
The beverage brands Liquid Death and Garage Beer teamed up to create the ad, which features former NFL player Jason Kelce joking about using people’s pee to cool the AI data centers.
“We want your pee, please give us your pee,” Kelce sings after peeing into a container. “Let’s pee on computers together. Because we need lots of pee.”
As the jingle continues, the surrounding people come together, joyfully singing with Kelce while holding containers of urine. The commercial then brings up how drinking the energy drinks from Liquid Death or the light beer from Garage Beer can help anyone easily produce pee.
Of course, the commercial is a joke. At one point, a disclaimer running below the video says: “The suits wants us to tell you to please don’t actually send your pee.” Still, the ad reflects the simmering opposition appearing across the US against local AI data center construction. Concerns have included air pollution, the strain on the electric grid, and loud noise, which has prompted some affected residents to file lawsuits.
The AI data centers can also use both fans and water to cool the computing, which can spark concerns about draining local water supplies. Although some data centers use “closed-loop water cooling” to minimize water loss, others can use “evaporative cooling” that consumes water.
In response to the concerns, companies including Amazon and Microsoft have been playing down the issue, saying the data center water use can be done responsibly, or sourced from wastewater. In Amazon’s case, the company used 2.5 billion gallons of water globally last year for data center cooling, but notes “Americans use roughly 3.3 trillion gallons a year to water their lawns and gardens, according to the EPA.”
Still, the ad from Jason Kelce may stir up more conversations and scrutiny of the water use. The commercial is already winning over some consumers. “An advertisement encouraging me to get pissed and piss on computers and AI data centers? This is the greatest marketing strategy I’ve even witnessed,” wrote one user on Instagram.