![]() It was also thirsty in Iowa, drawing more potable water to its Council Bluffs data centers than anywhere else. Google’s spike wasn’t uniform - it was steady in Oregon where its water use has attracted public attention, while doubling outside Las Vegas. Google reported a 20% growth in water use in the same period, which Ren also largely attributes to its AI work. “If you’re not aware of the resource usage, then there’s no way that we can help conserve the resources.” “Most people are not aware of the resource usage underlying ChatGPT,” Ren said. The estimate includes indirect water usage that the companies don’t measure - such as to cool power plants that supply the data centers with electricity. The range varies depending on where its servers are located and the season. In a paper due to be published later this year, Ren’s team estimates ChatGPT gulps up 500 milliliters of water (close to what’s in a 16-ounce water bottle) every time you ask it a series of between 5 to 50 prompts or questions. “It’s fair to say the majority of the growth is due to AI,” including “its heavy investment in generative AI and partnership with OpenAI,” said Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside who has been trying to calculate the environmental impact of generative AI products such as ChatGPT. In its latest environmental report, Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons, or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools), a sharp increase compared to previous years that outside researchers tie to its AI research.
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