Big tech firms like Microsoft and Google reportedly saw their global water usage skyrocket following the arrival of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.
Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California – Riverside, told The Associated Press that for every five to 50 questions or prompts asked of ChatGPT, the technology uses approximately 500 milliliters of water, about the same as a 16-ounce water bottle.
Ren and his team have been investigating the impact of generative AI products on the environment and local water.
“Most people are not aware of the resource usage underlying ChatGPT,” he said. “If you’re not aware of the resource usage, then there’s no way that we can help conserve the resources.”
According to the company’s latest environmental sustainability report, Microsoft’s global water usage surged over 33% to nearly 1.7 billion gallons from 2021 to 2022. This increase, which was enough to fill more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, was primarily driven by Microsoft’s growing need to cool equipment at its data centers, the AP reported.
Google also saw a significant year-over-year increase in water usage at its data centers and offices due to AI. According to the firm’s latest environmental report, Google’s water usage increased by roughly 5.6 billion gallons in 2022, or enough to irrigate 37 golf courses annually, per estimates from Google.
It is worth noting that in 2022, 82% of Google’s freshwater withdrawals came from regions with low water stress. Furthermore, Google contends that 23% of its total water withdrawal (excluding seawater) is reclaimed wastewater and other non-potable water. For instance, in Douglas County, Georgia, Google redirected local sewer water that would otherwise be discharged into the Chattahoochee River.
Both companies say they are focused on reducing their annual water usage, replenishing the water they use, and increasing access to water.
“We will continue to monitor our emissions, accelerate progress while increasing our use of clean energy to power data centers, purchasing renewable energy, and other efforts to meet our sustainability goals of being carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030,” Microsoft said in a statement, per The AP.
Still, the amount needed to cool the data centers is only expected to increase as the technology becomes more ingrained in society and more generative AI products become available to the public.
