AI tools consume up to 4 times more water than estimated

Karah Rucker

A NEW REPORT REVEALS THAT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS LIKE CHATGPT ARE CONSUMING FAR MORE WATER THAN WE ORIGINALLY THOUGHT… UP TO FOUR TIMES MORE. 

RESEARCHERS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE DISCOVERED THAT ANSWERING 10 TO 50 QUERIES ON THE A-I CHATBOT CAN USE ABOUT 2 LITERS OF WATER… EQUIVALENT TO MORE THAN FOUR BOTTLES OF DRINKING WATER. INITIALLY, EXPERTS BELIEVED THE WATER CONSUMPTION WAS FAR LOWER, ESTIMATING IT AT HALF A LITER FOR THE SAME NUMBER OF QUERIES.

THE MASSIVE COMPUTING POWER BEHIND A-I SERVERS GENERATES INTENSE HEAT, WHICH MEANS DATA CENTERS ARE CONSTANTLY USING WATER TO KEEP THEM COOL. THE NEW FIGURES RELEASED BY MICROSOFT REVEAL THAT THE ENERGY DEMANDS OF A-I MODELS ARE MUCH GREATER THAN EXPECTED. THIS ALSO MEANS THE AMOUNT OF WATER REQUIRED TO COOL THESE SYSTEMS IS FAR GREATER THAN WE ONCE THOUGHT.

THESE REVELATIONS COME AS TECH GIANTS LIKE GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, AND META REPORTED SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN WATER USAGE IN JUST THE PAST YEAR, WITH GOOGLE REPORTING A 17-PERCENT RISE, MICROSOFT 22.5-PERCENT, AND META 17-PERCENT.

AND IT’S NOT JUST IN THE UNITED STATES… NEW DATA CENTERS PLANNED IN THE UK COULD CONSUME AS MUCH WATER AS A CITY THE SIZE OF LIVERPOOL. DATA CENTERS NOW ACCOUNT FOR 21-PERCENT OF IRELAND’S ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION, AND BIG CENTERS CONSUMING 1 GIGAWATT OF POWER — EQUIVALENT TO WHAT A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PRODUCES —  ARE BEING BUILT.

OPEN A-I CEO SAM ALTMAN RECENTLY MADE A PROPOSAL TO THE WHITE HOUSE DETAILING A PLAN TO CONSTRUCT AT LEAST FIVE OF THESE MASSIVE CENTERS… ENVISIONING ONE OF THE GRANDEST SINGLE ENERGY EXPANSIONS IN WORLD HISTORY. BUT THE PROCESS OF GENERATING POWER FOR AI REMAINS INCREDIBLY WASTEFUL… WITH 60-PERCENT OF RESOURCES LOST IN ENERGY PRODUCTION.

WHILE TECH COMPANIES ARE PROMISING TO OFFSET THEIR WATER USAGE BY 2030, CRITICS SAY IT’S NOT ENOUGH. THE CONCERN IS THAT THESE EFFORTS TO REPLACE WATER OFTEN DON’T HAPPEN IN THE SAME REGIONS WHERE WATER WAS ORIGINALLY SOURCED, MEANING SOME AREAS MAY FACE SEVERE WATER STRESS AS A-I TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO GROW.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M KARAH RUCKER.