Sustainability Questions , Linger Around AI's Use , of Vast Amounts of Water.
'The Independent' reports that just one of the
sustainability questions circling around artificial
intelligence is the amount of water it necessitates. .
In 2022, Microsoft alone reportedly used
over 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools
of water to operate its data centers. .
In 2022, Microsoft alone reportedly used
over 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools
of water to operate its data centers. .
The computational resources required by
AI means that companies must operate massive
server farms to keep the system running.
The computational resources required by
AI means that companies must operate massive
server farms to keep the system running.
'The Independent' reports that those server farms
use vast quantities of water to cool themselves,
a long-running concern for environmentalists.
'The Independent' reports that those server farms
use vast quantities of water to cool themselves,
a long-running concern for environmentalists.
Between 2021 and 2022, the amount of water used
by Microsoft increased 34%, according to the
company's most recent environmental report.
Between 2021 and 2022, the amount of water used
by Microsoft increased 34%, according to the
company's most recent environmental report.
The Associated Press first reported that
the company's water consumption
reached almost 1.7 billion gallons.
According to Google, its water use
had increased 20% over the same
period of time.
According to Google, its water use
had increased 20% over the same
period of time.
Google's water use varied across
multiple data centers ranging
across different areas of the U.S. .
Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University
of California, Riverside is among those working
to document the environmental impact of AI.
Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University
of California, Riverside is among those working
to document the environmental impact of AI.
According to Ren, every 5 to 50 questions
posed to ChatGPT consumes
an estimated 500 milliliters of water.