How Much Water Do AI Prompts Use?

The first question you might be asking is “why does AI use water at all?” You might also wonder at the end of this, “we are using all of this energy and resources for really shitty “art” and straight up wrong answers to questions we ask? Seems silly and bad, huh?”

Why does AI use water?

“First, these centers draw electricity from power plants that use large cooling towers that convert water into steam emitted into the atmosphere. 

Second, the hundreds of thousands of servers at the data centers must be kept cool as electricity moving through semiconductors continuously generates heat. This requires cooling systems that, like power plants, are typically connected to cooling towers that consume water by converting it into steam.”

https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2023/04/28/ai-programs-consume-large-volumes-scarce-water

–AI programs consume large volumes of scarce water, by David Danelski, UCR

How much water does a ChatGPT prompt use?

“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. The range varies depending on where its servers are located and the season. 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.”

“In July 2022, the month before OpenAI says it completed its training of GPT-4, Microsoft pumped in about 11.5 million gallons of water to its cluster of Iowa data centers, according to the West Des Moines Water Works. That amounted to about 6% of all the water used in the district, which also supplies drinking water to the city’s residents.”

https://apnews.com/article/chatgpt-gpt4-iowa-ai-water-consumption-microsoft-f551fde98083d17a7e8d904f8be822c4

–Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water, by Matt O’Brien and Hannah Fingerhut, AP News