Tech Giants Grapple with Growing ‘Thirst’ of Generative AI
The global race for the next wave of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has put major tech players like Microsoft and Google under the spotlight for a significant surge in their water consumption. A recent study by Shaolei Ren at the University of California, Riverside, revealed that AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, have a considerable water footprint, with ChatGPT using 500 milliliters of water for every 10 to 50 prompts.
Ren and colleagues warned of the potential environmental roadblocks if the growing water footprint of AI models is not addressed. This issue extends to the water requirements of data centers, crucial for tech operations.
Microsoft reported a more than a third increase in global water consumption from 2021 to 2022, reaching 1.7 billion gallons. Google’s water usage